Beginnings
by Angel13490
Summary: AU X-men&Teen Titans Join the Xmen as they escape their human captors, take root in Bayville and discover the ultimate sin: betrayal. But when one member pushes the team too far how many lives will be lost to the enemy? Many pairings inside!
1. Chapter 1

this is kind something ive had on file for quite some time…its pretty long and I'm not totally done with it but its pretty good (in my opinion) also I dnt know how to do Remy's accent very well so bear with me…unless I get some serious advice I'm considering dropping it altogether.

anyway this is an AU X-men Evo and Teen Titans Crossover so hope you enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter One_

Garfield Logan rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, staring at the crack of light that came from under the door. His stomach was so empty that it felt like it was trying to eat itself but the young man ignored the pain. Quietly he shifted position to keep his legs from loosing feeling, a silver of light fell on his light green hands and he flexed them into fists. A week in this little room hadn't made him loose any sharpness in his senses. He was supposed to be released today; he just had to be patient.

Finally the door rattled loudly and it opened slowly revealing the blinding sunlight. A guard appeared in front of the door. "Alright mutie, get outta there and get to your barracks."

Gar sprang to his feet and was off like a shot. He left the guard looking after him, shaking his head slightly. In two minutes he'd reached the big building that he lived in. Skidding to a stop he rapped on the door four times. It opened and a pair of gloved hands pulled him inside, slamming the door afterward.

"_Quel dans l'enfer est erroné avec vous_?"(1)

"Chill Remy, I'm fine other than the fact that I can't feel my arms now."

The man released his friend and folded his arms over his chest, "What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Gar…"

"Okay, okay! Some idiot threw a rock and it hit me in the eye so I yelled at him. The guards decided to haul me off and put me in the cell for a week. What's the big deal?"

Remy Lebeau's red and black eyes hardened, "Kurt got ten lashes for asking about you."

"What? Why didn't you tell me in the first place? Where is he?"

"Over there."

Gar sprinted over to what was usually his bed. But at the moment a furry, blue, elf-like young man occupied it. He was lying on his stomach with his head hanging over the side of the bed; large red welts covered his back. "If you two do not shut up I'm going to strangle you." he growled as Gar approached.

"Kurt, I'm sorry. I didn't know… "

"_Gehen Sie zur Hölle_." (2)

"If you're going to cuss me out at least do it in English."

Kurt Wagner raised his head, his yellow eyes glowed eerily. "I am not talking to you."

The green teenager waited a few more minutes but Kurt still ignored him. He sighed and pulled out his little bag from underneath his bed. Rummaging around inside he found a large ball of rags that he had collected, he glanced at Remy and the man nodded to a bucket of water before leaving the building. Gar dipped twenty of the rags into the water and carefully began laying them on his friend's back, over the welts. "I'm really sorry Kurt."

"Not talking."

"Are you going to forgive me? I don't know how long I can stand you not talking to me."

Kurt sighed heavily and turned his head to look at his friend, "You are forgiven, but you must promise me that you will be more careful in the future. If we are ever going to get out of here we have to survive."

"I promise."

"_Danke mein freud_." (3)

Gar smiled and glanced up as Remy walked in, "What's up?"

"They brought in another truckload. They're going to house them in here since the new barracks aren't finished yet."

"How many?"

"Maybe eight or so."

Gar started to reply but his sensitive ears suddenly picked up on a roar from outside. It sounded like a wounded animal howling. The sound was cut short with a loud yelp. Kurt pushed himself up on his elbows and watched the door attentively. Gar looked at Remy and put a finger to his lips, indicating someone was coming.

Suddenly the door to the building burst open and a young man of about nineteen fell to his hands and knees. He had black hair with pale skin. He looked up at the three occupants and his blue eyes widened, scrambling to his feet and took off at a run towards the opposite wall. Just before he crashed into it his body turned into a puff of black smoke and he vanished.

"Holy crap, what the heck was that?" Gar wondered.

Seconds later ten guards stormed into the room. Remy kicked Gar's pack under the bed, out of sight and stood in front of Kurt protectively. "He went through the wall."

"Secure the perimeter. Activate the electrical field. You two get out here and help us look."

Gar and Remy followed obediently while Kurt remained on the bed.

Outside a group of mutants were crowded around the body of a fallen girl with red hair. Gar sniffed the air and caught the tangy scent of blood. He growled low in his chest and took a step towards the new mutants. One of the girls jumped to her feet and spread her arms protectively as if to stop him, "Leave her alone!"

"I'm not going to hurt her. I'm one of you." Gar waited, praying she wouldn't cause a scene.

Finally the girl lowered her arms and stepped aside so Gar could see the girl lying on the ground, curled in a ball. He knelt down and carefully felt up and down her sides, searching for broken ribs and tender areas. "Where did they hit her?"

"All over." the answer came from a silver-haired boy who had a pale-faced girl pulled into his chest. The two were obviously related. "She tried to use her powers and they stared kicking and hitting her really hard until she passed out."

Gar bit his lip and gently patted the girl's cheeks. She moaned and opened her eyes slowly, "Am I dead?"

"Sorry kid, you're not that lucky just yet. Don't sit up, you've got some really bad bruising on your sides and-."

A guard slammed the butt of his rifle into Gar's spine causing him to yelp loudly and fall forward. He rolled over and shifted into a crouched position, growling loudly.

"Get these prisoners into the barracks. And no trouble." the guard ordered before shouldering past Remy and into the main office of the camp.

Gar tried to leap at the man but Remy caught him and held on tight, "Leave it _mon ami_. (4) We need to help the girl." he paused as Gar quit thrashing, "You done?"

"I'm done."

"Good, now help Remy get this one to bed. The rest of you get everything you brought with you, you're going to need it."

* * *

When they went into the barrack the pale-faced girl screamed when she saw Kurt and buried her face into her brother's chest, sobbing. The young man winced as he got off the bed. He waved away Remy's attempts to help him and limped over to shut the door as the rest of the mutants trickled in. "What is wrong with the girl?" he asked, pointing to the redhead in Gar's arms.

"The guards subdued her." the changeling replied laying the girl down on an empty bed. He looked around the barracks. There were seven new mutants sitting and standing around the room, each of them looking terrified out of their minds. With a sigh he stood to address them.

"Look, I know you're all scared and you've got a right to be. But right now we've got to work. Put your stuff under the beds against the wall or the guards will take everything. You're going to get two pairs of pants, a shirt and a sweater. The blankets are already on the beds, there aren't any pillows. We get two meals a day and a 'snack' at noon. If you're late you don't get food."

"Are they going to kill us?" a boy of about fourteen asked.

Remy shook his head, "No, they can do just about anything to us but they can't kill us. Remy hate to have to tell you this on your first day here but it's for your safety; girls do not go out of the barracks alone. Always have one of the guys within sight. The guards aren't supposed to do anything to you and most of them won't even look at you but it's always better safe than sorry."

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door. Remy hurried to hide the bags while Gar answered the door. Outside was Logan, one of the older mutants who sometimes got special favors from the guards. He had a black-clad body thrown over his shoulder and when he walked into the room everyone went silent. He strode over to a bed and put the young man on it; he surveyed the group then looked at Remy, "Big groups are harder to move."

"_Oui _but you know as well as Remy that they can't be left and there may be advantages."

Logan snorted and looked at Kurt, "You alright there Elf?"

"_Ja_, (5) I will be fine."

"Good." Now he turned his iron gaze on Gar, "Stay outta trouble kid." With that he left, closing the door behind him.

The group let out a collective sigh and began claiming their beds. Remy and Gar sat on theirs to prevent anyone from taking them. Belongings were stored and the room settled into quiet. Kurt lay back down and dozed, his tail flipping onto the floor. Gar climbed down from the top bunk and crouched by the redhead. The girl who'd protected her earlier was sitting beside her, humming quietly and stroking her hair.

"She's in pain."

Gar blinked and looked up. Earlier he hadn't had a chance to look the girl over, now he let his eyes roam her face. She had long purple hair that reached down past her shoulders, it was dirty and tangled. Her eyes were a shade darker than her hair and seemed to show everything and nothing at the same time. Her skin was light grey as if she hadn't gotten enough sun, in the middle of her forehead there was a red gem that sparkled in the dim light. Gar returned his attention to the unconscious girl on the bed. "How can you tell?"

"I'm an empath and even with the control devices I can still feel everything." She carefully brushed loose hair from the girl's brow. "I've never felt so much terror in one place before."

"It's a prison camp, what were you expecting?"

The girl looked at him, "You are hard to read. Your fear is buried deep within."

"I've got more important things to think about. Besides fear only clouds your judgment and I need to be crystal clear if I ever want to be a free man again."

"…I am Raven Roth."

"Garfield Logan. Do you know any of the others' names?"

Raven looked around at the pitiful group. "I do not know the one who escaped, he didn't speak to us. Those two are Wanda and Pietro, they're twins I think. The younger ones are Holly and Todd. That's Rogue and this is Rahne." Again she looked at the injured girl that lay, whimpering quietly on the bed. Her purple eyes wavered, "If only I could heal her…"

"You're a healer?"

"Yes, I take the pain of others, draw it into my own body and deflect it onto others or absorb it."

Gar blinked in surprise, "Anything else I should know?"

"I am telepathic and telekinetic. Not that it matters with these devices on." She fingered the control collar around her slim throat. "And you? Why were you sent here?"

"You mean other than being green all over? I'm an animal shape-shifter; as long as it's existed I can turn into it. Remy got caught breaking into a house. He can make the energy inside objects explode. He explained it all to me but it didn't really make sense."

"And your blue friend?"

Gar glanced at Kurt who was out like a light. He felt a twinge of guilt for the scars that crisscrossed the German's strong back. "As far as I know his only real power is teleportation but he can stick to walls, do just about anything with his tail, and he's a trained acrobat. They found him in a circus, murdered his adoptive parents and brought him here."

"And where are you from?"

"I was born in the States but I grew up in Africa. My parents died on a research trip there. I got captured by a couple of poachers five years ago and they brought me here."

"How long have you been here?"

"Almost two years I think. Remy's been here five and Kurt got here two months before me. And you?"

Raven didn't get the chance to answer. A loud bell began to ring causing almost everyone to jump. Remy calmed them down and told them to get in line to go to dinner. Gar rose and cast a look at the girl called Rahne, "She won't get any food." he murmured to Remy.

"She can have mine." the silver-haired boy piped up.

"Pietro, your metabolism…" his sister said softly.

"It's okay Wanda, I'm not going to be running anywhere for awhile. I'll be fine."

Remy gently woke Kurt up and helped him to his feet, "Alright, everyone follow me."

* * *

(1) what the hell is wrong with you?

(2) Go to hell

(3) thank you my friend

(4) my friend

(5) the German equivalent to 'yes'

* * *

hope you liked it! any help with accents tips or any helpful critism is nice. i like flames they're funny :D


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

Gar rolled over on the hard bed and tried to block out the sound of Kurt's tail thumping on the floor. He growled slightly and sat up; he heard a squeak in the darkness. He flicked his eyes around the room and finally decided it came from Holly's bed, she must've seen him move. "It's just me Holly, go back to sleep."

"I'm too scared to sleep. I miss my dad."

Gar dropped to the floor, silent as a cat and walked over to her side. "Do you want me to sit beside you until you fall asleep?"

The girl nodded; her bottom lip quivering as she tried to hold back tears. Gar retrieved his blanket and wrapped it around himself as he settled on the wooden floor. Luckily it wasn't very cold. He leaned his head against the pole of the bunk bed and listened to the night sounds. His ears twitched as he heard guards walking around the camp and barracks. With a sigh he looked up at Holly who was now sleeping with her knees pulled into her chest. A soft smile covered his face and he pulled her blanket further around her shoulders before climbing back into his bed.

* * *

Rogue jumped awake as someone's hand covered her bare shoulder. She looked up at the tall man with red and black eyes in alarm. Her mouth dropped slightly, "You're… you're awake? But you touched me!"

Remy gave her a confused look, "What you talking about?"

"I can't touch anyone or I'll take away their memories and powers."

The man smiled sadly and held up his gloved hands, "Sorry _cheri_; and Remy isn't sure that your powers can even work with that collar around your neck. You gotta get up before the guard come busting through the doors."

Rogue sat up with a slight groan and looked around. Everyone was either dressed or in the process of getting their clothes gathered up. With a heavy sigh the girl grabbed a long-sleeved shirt from her bag and pulled it over her head, she slipped her gloves on and laced up her combat boots. After a moment of searching she found a hair-tie and pulled back her brown and white hair. "So what do we do all day?" she asked as they trooped outside and stood in a slightly crooked line outside the barracks.

"Nothing much. There's a pathetic attempt at a gym and that's where we all spend most of our time." Gar replied; he turned his head in the direction of the office, "Where are they?"

"Don't know _mon ami_." Remy replied around a splinter of wood that served as a toothpick. He eyed Gar quietly, "You leave the barracks at night?"

"No way dude. I'm stupid but I'm not going to let a whole bunch of new kids starve because of me." As he spoke the changeling's ears twitched and his head swiveled around to locate the source of the sound. "The Big Man's coming."

"_Vas_?" Kurt exclaimed in alarm, "It's just new people, why would he come out and see us?"

"Who's the Big Man?" Todd asked quietly, wincing as if he was afraid of a reprimand.

Remy had no time to explain. Seconds later the man himself appeared. He was dressed in army fatigues and carried a long horse whip. Remy, Gar and Kurt instantly snapped to attention, their eyes staring straight ahead. The others copied them praying that nothing would happen.

The man looked at them with disgust. He had cold blue eyes and grey hair. After a moment he stopped in front of Remy, "Two of them are missing. Where is the girl?"

"In the barracks sir. She be unconscious." Remy replied without making eye contact.

"And why would that be?"

"…Some of the guards were kicking her. She's broken a rib, Remy requests for some supplies to treat her."

"Granted, Logan will get you the things you need. Where is the mutant who tried to escape?"

"Still in the barracks, he's been out all night."

The man nodded and turned on his heel and marched away without another word. Gar let out a breath of relief and followed the other prisoners to the mess hall.

* * *

Todd lay on his back watching the fly buzz around towards his face. With a flick he let his long tongue slurp up the insect. He jumped in surprise as someone made a noise. He looked over the side of his bed to see the blonde girl who called herself Holly making a face.

"Did you really just eat that fly?"

"Do you always ask questions you don't want to know the answers to?"

The girl stuck her tongue out and folded her arms over her chest. She was staring at the pale-faced mutant who was still unconscious on the far bed. "I thought he was going to make it."

Todd snorted, "What difference would it have made? Everyone knows about these places but no one cares about what happens to us."

"You'd be surprised kid."

Both mutants yelped in surprise. The large, burly man who'd brought in the nameless mutant stood over by Rahne's bedside, his arms full of bandages and antiseptic. "Either of you know where Remy is? He's supposed to help 'em with this."

"Remy is showing the others around_ Herr _Logan." Kurt replied coming into the room. "May I offer my assistance?"

"You know what you're doing Elf?"

"I have bandaged Gar up enough times haven't I?"

Logan snorted and handed him the supplies then left without another word. Kurt sighed and started to sort through the items. His tail quivered nervously as he tried to ignore the stares of Todd and Holly. Finally he turned and looked at them "_Vas_?"

They both looked away guiltily. Holly raised her gaze first, flushing slightly, "I'm sorry Mr. Kurt I've just never… I've never seen anyone like you."

Kurt smiled, showing off white fangs, "Thank you for being honest Holly. But please believe me when I say that you have nothing to fear from me. I am harmless. Would you please come and help me bandage Rahne?"

"I… don't know how."

"I will teach you. Come."

Todd leaned back against the headboard and stared out the tiny window. He could see Remy and Logan outside, talking with each other. Gar was keeping the newcomers busy while still being close enough to listen in on the conversation. He sighed and curled into a ball on the bed, watching Kurt and Holly. His eyes lit upon the blue teen's bare back and the large stripes that crisscrossed the skin. "Kurt?"

"_Ja_ Todd?"

"What happened to your back dawg?"

The young man paused for a moment, "I was asking about Gar when he was locked in the cell and one of the guards decided to teach me a lesson."

Holly paled, "They… they whipped you?"

"_Ja_, life here is cruel Holly. These men were hired because they hate mutants and they want to keep us in here away from everyone else. That is the way it is."

"But… aren't these places supposed to be humane? They've passed all sorts of laws to keep mutants from getting hurt by the people who run the camps."

Kurt stared at her for a moment, "Let me ask you something Holly, you learned about the German concentration camps _ja_?"

"Ya but what-."

"In a sense this place is the same. Because we're in America they can't kill or torture us as badly but a lot goes on behind these fences that no one will ever see. Almost everyone wants to see mutants wiped out, do you think they're going to try and get us the treatment we deserve? The laws are just to keep the public happy."

Todd snorted loudly, "You got that right. I just about got killed by a couple of idiots at my old school and my step-dad threw me out of the house when I started hopping around like a frog. The only reason I got caught was because I tried to get into a shelter for something to eat."

"But… why don't you fight back? There must be a way to get rid of the control collars."

"And then what would we do?" Remy asked as he entered into the room, "We would just be caught again and brought back. There is no where for our kind to go. We prisoners no matter where we go. Of course for Remy it wouldn't be hard to just disappear into the streets but for someone like Kurt or Gar it would be impossible. No offense _mon ami_."

"None taken, where are the others?"

"Outside with Gar. Logan wants to see you."

* * *

Gar paced the length of the fence staring into the distance. He dimly registered the sounds of the new mutants behind him as they shared their stories but he was lost in his own thoughts. He stopped and threaded his hands through the chain-link fence, wind blew over his face and he closed his eyes shutting away the horror of his life for a brief moment.

"Get off the fence mutie!"

Gar sprang away, barely dodging the short quirk that had been aimed at his exposed arm. The guard sneered at him and raised the whip again. Gar didn't move as he was struck five times on each arm. He stared at the guard shoving away the hatred that built with every blow; he didn't dare let his rage show for fear of angering the man even more.

Finally the man stopped and moved away towards his companions who slapped him on the back and laughed.

"Gar…?"

The changeling looked over at the group. Wanda was crying into her knees; her hands balled up into fists. The others looked at him with awe and pity. Gar knelt by Wanda and touched her shoulder gently. She turned and looked up at him her face streaked with dirt and tears. "Why didn't you stop him?"

Gar couldn't answer, she wouldn't understand. If he got thrown in the cell again that would leave only Remy and Kurt to protect them. Instead he put his arm around the girl and rocked her back and forth as she cried. Pietro jittered nearby, unnerved by the scene but he calmed down and stroked his twin's hair, murmuring calming words to her.

Raven stood over the little gathering, her purple eyes narrowed. The control collar had totally shut her off from her telekinetic power but she could still use her telepathy to the extent that she could read thoughts but not alter them or respond. Her empathy too had fought from the drugged stupor the collar put on her powers and let her see the blazing emotions of her fellow prisoners and captors.

One of the guards hadn't moved on with the rest of them, he was watching them, trying to be discreet. Raven probed at his thoughts but could get nothing. She leaned back on her heels and sent her empathy as gently as she could. She started as she felt waves of pity and anger melded together. The guard was boiling mad over the treatment of the mutants.

"Raven!"

The sorceress looked over at Rogue, "What?"

"Why are ya staring at nothing?"

The girl looked to where the guard had been but he was moving away, he cast a glance over his shoulder and their eyes locked for a moment. The guard gave her a small salute then disappeared into a tower.

Rogue nudged the other mutant gently. "Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine." Raven turned around and surveyed the scene. Wanda and Pietro were walking together towards the barracks, their heads bent as they talked. Kurt was crouched next to Gar, who was sitting on the ground, his arms almost white against the rest of his olive green skin. The changeling's teeth were slightly bared but he didn't look angry just annoyed. He murmured something to Kurt and the blue mutant nodded before rising just as the bell began to ring.

"We had better get in line for dinner."

* * *

most of the comments made by Remy and Kurt are unimportant as far as translation. If you need help just message me and i'll try to put translations in next time. It just takes time and i wanted to upload this quickly! Spread the world! Crossover are hard but i have good plans for this one :D Read and review


	3. Chapter 3

ok this one is gonna be a LONG one so hang in there. Also i regret to inform the Wanda/Todd shippers that there is NO Tonda in this fic. They are paired with my OCs. Sorry. If you guys want a list of the pairings tel me so in your reveiw and i will give them to you.  
Anyway...on with the show!!

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Three_

Kurt groaned and tried to block out the sounds of the diesel engine that was rumbling outside the barracks. He lifted his head and looked out the small window with bleary eyes. A pair of headlights lit up a small section of the darkness outside. Kurt rubbed his eyes to clear the fuzziness and pressed his face to the window for a better view.

A girl was being led out of the truck, her wrists were handcuffed behind her back and a curtain of long black hair hid most of her face from sight. One of the guards gave her a rough shove and she lost her balance and fell to the ground. The man pulled her to her feet and shouted, shaking the girl angrily.

Kurt's tail whipped through the air before curling around his neck. With quick fingers he opened the little window by his bed and slithered through, making a muffled yelp as his hips caught a piece of wire. Keeping to the shadows he crept along a ledge until he was directly over the guards and the girl. He could do very little without endangering himself but…

"Hey!" a voice yelled causing Kurt to start, almost falling from his perch. Another guard approached the two; his face was dark brown and his black hair hung in his eyes. He shouldered his way past the two men and helped the girl to her feet while still showing no pity or compassion. "You try that again and you'll be out of her so fast it'll make your head spin. Get back to your posts; I'll take care of the girl."

The two men slunk away guiltily. The other guard released the girl from the handcuffs and opened the door to the barracks. "There should be an empty bed on the end to your right. Get some sleep and in the morning someone will explain everything to you." He waited until the girl was in the barracks before he glanced up into the shadows, "That means you too."

Kurt dropped to the ground and stood there in the dim light, his tail flipped over as he waited for the guard to make a move.

"My name is Jason Gonzales. What's your name?"

"What's it to you?"

Jason smiled mysteriously and opened the door without a sound despite the notorious squeaky hinges, "Just tell your friend that she's right and there's someone on the inside looking out for you."

Kurt hesitated, logic told him it was a trap but his instinct said to trust the man. He straightened from his defensive position and walked over to the door. This was a true test, most guards recoiled from him once they got close enough to truly examine him but Jason stood firm. He was obviously Hispanic and had a faded x shaped scar over his left cheek. He put his hand out towards Kurt who stared at it for a moment not understanding. Then he slowly shook it, "Kurt Wagner."

"Nice to meet you Kurt."

The blue mutant gave Jason another once-over before darting into the barracks.

* * *

Rahne groaned and opened her eyes to the sounds of shouting. Someone was standing by her bed and she recognized the silver-haired boy she'd sat next to on the train. Gathering her strength the redhead sat up and looked around. To her surprise she found herself looking at a scene of complete chaos. A girl with long black hair and olive colored skin had her hands wrapped around the throat of a blue demonic-looking young man who was only wearing pants and a ripped shirt, a spaded tail was curled around the girl's wrists as he tried to fight her off.

"What did you do to me!" the girl screamed, shaking the blue youth.

The mutant's tail suddenly grabbed her leg and jerked. They both went down and wrestled for position. Finally the girl ended up on the bottom with her arms pinned behind her back with the bigger teen straddling her back, using his legs to keep her from kicking him. His arms quivered with effort as the girl bucked and struggled to get away. "I do not wish to harm you _fraulein_!(1) I will explain if you will stop trying to kill me!" he yelled with a German accented voice.

The girl became still and some of the others in the room stepped closer. Rahne craned her neck to see what was going on.

"Are you going to let me up?" the girl asked.

"In a moment. What is your name?"

"Amanda Stefton, I'm not a mutant! Get off!" She thrashed wildly against her captor.

"I asked you to stop doing that. Please listen to me, my name is Kurt Wagner. I am not a demon or anything of that nature. I am a human being just like you and if you try to run away from here you will be punished. Severely."

"By who?"

"The guards." Remy put in. He crouched down by the girl and nodded for Kurt to get off. Amanda sat up and rubbed her wrists. Remy cast a glance at Gar who had his ear pressed to the door; the changeling gave him the all clear signal. "They will hunt you down and they will hurt you, so let Remy ask you this _cheri_: do you want to die? Or do you want to survive?" He rose and offered his hand.

Amanda pushed it aside and got up on her own. She whirled on Kurt who nearly jumped out of his fur and leapt atop one of the beds to stay out of her reach. "Touch me again blue boy and I'll feed you your stupid tail." she snarled.

"Are you always this cranky in the mornings?"

"Only when I wake up to a blue demon staring at me."

Kurt growled like an animal, "_Ich bin nicht ein Dämon_."(2)

"Well you sure look like one." Amanda spat with a sneer, drawing a surprised look from Kurt.

"_Sie sprechen Deutsches?_"(3)

"Fluently, now I don't suppose one of you wants to explain what is going on around here?"

Everyone exchanged a look and Remy sighed, "You're in a mutant prison camp _cheri_. Kurt says you came in last night and some of the guards were roughing you up. You don't remember?"

"No, the last thing I remember is going to the train station with my father. I fell asleep and the next thing I know I'm staring at blue-boy's face."

Before anyone could take the argument any further Gar barked and leapt onto his bunk. The others scrambled to look normal while Amanda looked around in confusion. Kurt pulled her onto a bed and jumped up onto his own. The door opened and Logan walked in, he surveyed the group and his eyes found Amanda. "Where'd you come from kid?"

"That's what we'd like to know. I woke up and she was trying to strangle Kurt." Gar said.

Logan snorted in slight amusement, "And I see he's survived to terrorize us another day."

Kurt hissed angrily through his fangs and curled up in the corner, ignoring them.

"I came in here to check on the unconscious twosome. Or one-some I should say." He sat down by Rahne who shrank back ever so slightly. "Easy kid I ain't gonna hurt ya." With one big hand he felt her forehead then snapped his fingers causing her to jump. "She seems fine. Has the other one woken up?"

"Not yet but he was moving around last night." Wanda replied.

Logan smirked, "Seems like he's just ignoring us." He crossed over to the pale young man and slapped his chest hard.

With a yell the still form came to life. The youth's eyes flittered from blue to black then settled on blue. He gasped for air and looked around. He groaned and fell back, "I thought I was out of here."

"You almost were. If you hadn't run straight into the electric force field you might've made it, now care to tell me who and what ya are?"

"I'm Xian. I'm a mutant."

"Alright, and the other one?"

Xian scowled and his eyes switched to black and he grew three inches in height while his body became a little more defined, "Perceptive fellow aren't you?"

"If you want to call it that. What are you?"

"Half vampire, Xian carries the mutant gene. I am Shade."

Logan nodded and dropped a bag of clothes on his lap. He looked over at Amanda, "I'll get ya some clothes tomorrow afternoon. Till then you're gonna have to deal." With that he left, slamming the door behind him.

"He's friendly." Shade grumbled rubbing his head.

"That's our Logan; prickly as a cactus and almost as lovable." Gar joked from atop his bed, "I'm Garfield Logan, nice to see you're finally awake."

"I wish I could say the same but that would be lying."

"Are you really a vampire?" Wanda asked suddenly.

Shade gave her a long look causing the girl to tremble slightly, "Do you always ask these types of questions of strangers?"

"Only when they might be vampires."

The man smirked; his teeth were pearly white but he had normal canines. "Yes I am a vampire but only on my father's side."

"You been in a camp before _mon ami_?" Remy asked.

"I was first captured seven years ago, 'bout five years ago I escaped and managed to hide out for a few months before I had to go on the run again. They've been chasing me ever since."

The Cajun rolled a quarter between his fingers, staring at the floor. "Gar?"

"Ya?"

"Go tell Logan that we need to talk tonight with everyone. You and Kurt can help keep watch."

The changeling nodded, "You got it boss." He slipped out the door letting in a blast of cold air.

Kurt jumped to the floor, carefully avoiding Amanda, and approached Remy as the others began talking and getting ready for their day. "So soon? They have just arrived."

"We have to move fast, that's the only way we're going to be able to do anything. They won't expect us to try anything yet. We'll compile a list tonight and tell them about the plan."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Some of them might get too… excited."

Remy flipped the quarter in the air idly. "Maybe but we have to try. Hopefully most of them know their limits and how to control themselves."

The younger man shook his head and sat down on one of the beds, "They are too young to know the horrors of the world."

"A lot of people would say you, me and Gar are too young. None of them are much younger than you so just buck up and do your part. That's all I ask."

"_Ja_… oh! I forgot to tell you. Last night I heard the truck that brought Amanda here pull in. I was curious so I went to the door and it was unlocked. I went outside and she was being pushed around by a couple of guards. Then one of the other guards came over and told them to leave her alone. He sent her inside then he told me to come down."

Remy's eyes widened, "He saw you!"

"_Ja_, but he didn't try to hurt me or anything. He asked my name and told me that his was Jason Gonzales. He told me to tell you that one of our friends was right and that we have someone watching out for us."

The man frowned and stilled the quarter in his hand, "Remy will ask Logan what he knows. You keep the kids busy. Remy be back."

* * *

Rahne sat in the sun with her sweatshirt's hood pulled up around her sensitive ears. Pietro was sitting next to her chattering idly. Kurt was reluctantly showing Amanda around and they seemed to be arguing about something. Raven and Rogue were sitting cross-legged with their eyes closed. Todd was hopping around with Holly who grimaced every time he ate a bug. Wanda was talking to Shade as they walked in the sun, her green eyes huge in awe.

"How old are you?"

Rahne looked over at the other mutant, "Sixteen, how old are you?"

"Seventeen… I think."

"You think?"

The young man nodded, "My sister and I were put in an insane asylum by our father when we were little. I don't remember him or our mother. We found out we were mutants a year ago and hid it until we got caught."

"Wow… they picked me up in the park. They had to keep Lane from killing me."

Pietro sat up, "Lane?"

"My boyfriend, he hates mutants with a passion."

"Huh… that's gotta be rough. What about your parents?"

The girl let out a bark of hollow laughter, "My dad could care less about what happens to me, he's probably happier than ever now that I'm gone. He used to get so mad whenever I'd come home. A lot of the time I didn't go home. My mom died but I don't know how, my dad got mad if I tried to ask him."

The youth rested his chin on his knees with a sigh, "Y'know life sucks."

"Life doesn't suck; certain people just suck… a lot."

Pietro laughed and jumped as a shadow fell over them from behind. Two guards stood over them, glaring angrily. "You two need to be exercising."

"I'm resting from-." Rahne was cut short by a resounding slap from the bigger guard. She grabbed Pietro by the shoulders to keep him from attacking the men and pulled him to his feet, "We're going." She forced the young man to come with her all the while withholding tears that stung her eyes now that the pain hit.

"Are you okay?" Pietro asked, his anger turning to concern.

"I'm fine."

"Your mouth is bleeding."

Rahne swallowed the trickle of blood, shuddering at the coppery taste. "I hate blood." she whimpered to herself. The others had heard the exchange and were using the equipment with a new vigor.

"Ya alright sugah?" Rogue asked, walking over.

"I think so. I just bit my tongue when he hit me."

The Southern girl carefully examined the younger mutant's cheek then wiped away the blood, "I ain't gonna forget that one hon. He'll get what's coming to him, trust me."

* * *

Gar stood at the door, his elf-like ears trained for any kind of footsteps. Kurt was hanging from a ceiling beam by his tail, looking out of the dingy window and into the courtyard outside. Below them the group of mutants plus Logan were sitting on various beds looking anxious as they waited for Remy to appear.

Finally there was a rap at the door and Gar opened it. Remy came inside, drenched from the storm outside. He shed his trench coat and accepted his sweatshirt from Rogue gratefully.

"What's this meeting about?" Todd asked as the man paced in front of them.

"I be getting to it. First, I want to ask you all some questions. First of all, what are your powers?"

This took everyone by surprise. They glanced around in confusion. "Why would you want to know that?" Holly asked.

"Because if we're going to get out of here we have to know what kind of firepower you're all carrying. Anything is helpful."

"But the collars…"

"Can be easily dispatched. We just have to be ready to fight our way out of here when we do it or we're all screwed. Logan you ready?"

"Whenever you are bub." The big man had a pad of paper on his lap and a pencil in his hand. "I ain't got all night though so someone speak up. You'll get to know what we do afterwards."

Everyone stayed silent then Rogue spoke up. "I don't know if it still works with the collars 'cause it's pretty strong." She drew one glove off her hand revealing pale white skin. "If I was to touch someone in this room I would absorb parts of their memories and their powers for a limited time. I don't have very good control over the memory part though, usually I just get flashes. But when I do that I drain part of the person's energy and they pass out, I've only used a few mutant's powers and it helps if I know how they work."

"So if you were to touch the guards they'd be unconscious?"

"Ya but I can't absorb too many people at once or I'm out like a light."

Remy nodded then looked at Raven, "How 'bout you next _cheri_?"

"I'm a telekinetic, a telepath, an empath, and a healer. I can expel any amount of pain that is my own or someone else's. I can alter the emotions of others and control thoughts. My telekinetic powers appear in the form of black energy. I also know some spells and things like that."

Logan looked up after he was done scribbling. "Quite a list, kid. You got pretty good control over everything?"

"Yes, but I have to be able to say my incantation to use my telekinetic powers if I do anything major or if I have to concentrate."

"What's the incantation?"

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

Logan wrote this all down then pointed at Todd, "Okay kid, besides catching and eating bugs what can you do?"

"Um… my legs are really strong and I usually can spit out poisonous goo. Or I can make it not poisonous, either one. I'm pretty good at sneaking around and keeping quiet and I can stick to walls like Kurt does."

"How long is your tongue?"

"Uh… I dunno maybe five feet if I really stretch it out."

Holly made a face earning a blush from the amphibious boy. The girl flipped her hair over one shoulder and looked at Logan expectantly; he nodded for her to go ahead. "I can change my appearance to anyone's that I've seen before and I pick up emotions from objects. Like if someone touched something and they were really angry I could tell that they were angry and if I knew the person I could tell you that too. I have pretty good control over that but if I get knocked around really hard the morphing disappears. Not very useful all in all."

Remy smiled, "Every little bit helps _cheri_."

Logan continued to write even as he looked at Rahne. The red head flushed bright red, "Well you guys all saw what I can do. I can turn into a wolf or just halfway transform so I kinda look like a werewolf. But I'm not a werewolf, my senses are heightened even when I'm human but they're a lot better when I'm wolf. And that's basically it."

Pietro was tapping a nervous beat out with his fingers and he jumped as Rahne nudged him, he looked around sheepishly. "I'm a speedster. I can vibrate my body so fast that I can go through walls and things like that. I think the fastest I can run is Mach 2 but usually I stay around three hundred miles an hour."

Wanda bit her lip and looked at Logan, "Do I have to?"

"Sorry kid, we just need to know what we've got. Don't worry, we'll be telling ya our secrets too so just spill. It'll make ya feel better."

The girl sighed, "I think my powers warp reality to my advantage but usually they just go haywire and things fall apart. I've used them on Pietro once and he ran himself into a wall so I guess I can warp mutant's powers too."

Shade gave a snort as Logan looked at him, "I can't pass on the vampirism unless I have a kid so you don't have to worry about me biting anyone. My only real power is through Xian, he can control shadows and turn our body into one to go through things and fly. I've mastered five different martial arts and he knows them too."

"How's that? You can't be more than twenty."

"I'm eighteen in human appearance. I've been alive for almost two hundred years but if I ever wanted to I could give away my immorality and just age normally. But I haven't really had the desire to yet."

"You're two hundred years old?" Wanda asked.

"Two hundred sixteen."

"Wow."

Logan finished his writing and flexed his hand to work out the camp. "Okay Amanda, you're up."

"I already told you I'm not a mutant." the girl growled.

"Well if you're not a mutant then there's gotta be a reason you're here. Care to share?"

Amanda sneered angrily, "My father was a mutant activist. He wanted to get rid of these camps and let all of you out of here. I don't know why they brought me here."

"If your father is a mutant activist why don't you like mutants?" Kurt asked from the ceiling.

"Because you're all freaks!"

Logan rose and towered over the girl. "You care to say that again, bub?"

The girl shrank away and sat back down on her bed visibly frightened of the Canadian.

"Listen if you want to get out of here you're going to have to work with us. If you don't then we're going to leave you here. I highly doubt that your father is still alive and if he is it's too dangerous to get you back to him, sorry to be blunt but that's the way it is. Now do you have any skills that might help us in any way?"

Amanda's eyes watered but she didn't cry. "I can hack computers pretty well. My dad used to block everything on my laptop and I figured out how to override the system. I don't know if I could with something like the defenses around the camp but I could try."

"It's a start. Now I'm sure you'd all like to know what we do." Remy said pulling a deck of cards from his pocket, "I can charge the energy in inanimate objects and then release it in the form of an explosion. It's called kinetic energy. I am also a former member of the Thieves Guild in New Orleans and I've done my share of street fighting. I speak French, English and a bit of Russian."

Logan grunted in annoyance as the Cajun looked at him, "Alright, I don't know much about myself really. I was experimented on before the laws were passed. We figure I'm somewhere around eighty or so. I've got a healing factor which means I'll heal from almost any wound given enough time. Part of the experiment was melding an indestructible metal to my skeleton. I can't show them to ya now because I'd set off an alarm but I've got two sets of claws two feet long that are under my knuckles."

The group took this in slowly without any words. Logan and Remy then traded places with Kurt and Gar, keeping watch on the doors.

"I am a teleporter." Kurt explained, "I can transport myself from one spot to another in the space of a few seconds. Like Todd said I can stick to walls and use my tail to hang on things. And just to make sure you are all aware of the fact, I am not a demon. I'm a harmless Fuzzball."

Gar looked around and laughed, "Jeez you guys, your eyes are as big as plates. All I am is an animal changeling; I can turn into almost any animal I want, even ones that are extinct."

"Are we really going to get out of here?" Holly asked, with wide eyes.

"We're going to try. That's all we can do at this point. We've figured out a way to disable the collars but we have to be prepared to strike as fast and as hard as we possibly can. The only thing we have on our side is the element of surprise."

* * *

(1) girl or miss

(2) I am not a Demon!

(3) You speak German?

again for a complete list of pairings send me a message and ill get them to you asap


	4. Chapter 4

sorry its been so long since ive updated school is starting and the boyfriend went to college so its been a stressfull few weeks. anyway i hope you enjoy and im hoping to update untitled, emotion commotion and maybe quoth the beast pretty soon

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* * *

__Chapter Four_

Rouge drew in the light dust with her gloved finger. Last night's conversation had gone long into the night as the older mutants explained that the escape would be dangerous and possibly fatal if they were recaptured. But despite that everyone had agreed to help. They couldn't talk about their plans once they were out for fear that they were being listened to. Logan just said he had friends who would help.

A shadow fell over Rogue's drawings, "Can Remy join you,_ cheri_?"

"I guess so, I ain't doing anything."

"That'll be fine with Remy. He ain't in the mood for doing much right now."

Rogue finished a spiral and cleaned her glove from the dust. "Where're you from?"

"New Orleans. What about you?"

"Mississippi, I got shuffled around in foster homes."

"Don't know your parents?"

"No, don't really want to neither. Most of the people I was with treated me right. I just happened to get put in a mutant hating one last time."

"Remy got jumped by a couple of _hommes_(1) and they handed him over to the police for the cash reward. They weren't too gentle about it either."

The younger mutant almost laughed, for some reason Remy struck her as a sweet guy, she found it hard to imagine him fighting against three or four guys. After stifling her laughter she tapped his coat pocket, "You wanna play cards?"

"Sure, but just to let you know Remy cheat." Remy said with a sly grin.

"Well that makes two of us."

* * *

Logan chewed on a toothpick as he leaned against the barrack wall. He was watching the young group of mutants as they passed yet another day in the camp. With a sigh he turned away to look at Gar, Kurt and Remy, "It's gotta be Friday."

"Friday? There's gonna be a blizzard on Friday."

"Exactly, they won't suspect that we'll try it in a blizzard and the wind will cover our tracks. We can't wait until spring, by that time these new kids won't be ready like they are now."

"What do we tell them? I don't know if we can be ready that fast."

Logan laid a finger to the side of his nose, "I talked with our new friend. He said he'd arrange for supplies to be left in the woods about ten miles from here."

"Don't know…" Remy said as he swept away a game of solitaire. "It gonna be dangerous in the snow storm. We gonna be cold 'till we get to those supplies."

"We'll take our blankets with us."

Kurt leapt to the floor lightly as a cat, "My only worry is Rahne, she's still weak and getting dizzy spells. I don't think she can run that long."

"I can carry her; I'll stay warmer that way too." Gar offered.

Logan nodded, "That'll be our best bet. You sure you can handle that? We might have to lay low for a few days before we can even get all the way there."

"Let's just do it _ja_? If I start thinking on it too much I'm afraid I'll back out."

* * *

Friday came and the blizzard howled its fury as promised. The group stayed holed up in the barracks after breakfast. They had been hoarding food and any kind of other supplies since their arrival. Now they packed it into their bags carefully so it wouldn't spoil or be crushed. Logan had stolen a lighter somewhere along the line and Remy had scrounged some fire-starters and some flares.

"Are you sure we can get all of the collars off?" Holly asked as she shivered from the harsh wind that crept through the walls.

"Sure as I'm standing here. And if not I can cut 'em off." Logan replied he was pacing up and down the length of the room with a scowl.

Remy held out his royal flush causing Kurt and Rogue to groan unhappily. Shade was dozing on his bed while Wanda and Pietro played a clapping game with Rahne and Todd. Raven was sitting on her bed with her eyes closed in meditation. Gar was on the floor asleep, his chest rising and falling lightly with each breath he took.

Logan paused his pacing and sniffed the air. "The kid's coming." he growled.

Moments later, as predicted, the door swung inward letting in a burst of cold air. Gar yelped in surprise, and dove for the door to slam it shut. Jason shouldered it back into place and grinned sheepishly, "Sorry 'bout that," He pulled the pack from his shoulder and set it on the floor, "I brought you your lunch and some extra food."

Logan searched through the new supplies then gave Jason a wary look, "Why're you doing this kid? They find out and you're not going to see much of anything but stone walls for the rest of your life."

Jason fiddled with the top of his baton, "Promise you can keep a secret?"

"We're mutants,_ mein Freud_(2);" Kurt said with a toothy grin, "Secrets are our specialty."

The young man smirked and straightened his back, "The thing is… I'm a mutant too."

"What?!"

"You've got to be kidding."

"How's that even possible? They test for the X gene at any job interview." Remy's voice cut through the clamor causing everyone to look at Jason while he searched for an answer.

"I'm not really sure. I know I am a mutant but I've never tested positive for the gene."

"What're your powers, kid?" Logan asked.

"I… I see things when I'm fighting. I can tell what people are going to do next. I've got enhanced senses and my body reacts without me even thinking about it. I've been street fighting ever since I was old enough to run."

Raven opened her eyes, "Maybe your abilities only made small changes and the X gene is mostly dormant and that's why they can't detect it."

Jason shrugged, "All I know is I am one."

"And you're gonna stay here? That's suicide kid."

"I can't just disappear; they'll go looking for me."

Remy rubbed his chin, "What if we made it look like you got caught in the crossfire when we escape? They'll assume that animals ate your body and you can come with us."

"Whoa there Cajun, I'm still not sure we can even trust this guy."

"That's a lie and you know it, old man."

Logan growled angrily, "What makes you say that?"

"Because if you didn't trust him you would've run him through already."

* * *

Raven picked at her food trying to calm the tight muscles in her stomach, in an hour they would be breaking out of the camp, if things went well they would be on their way to the supply pick up point in a few hours. She sighed and began to wrap her leftover food in a piece of cloth while the guards had their backs turned.

"You should eat." Rogue murmured.

"I'll be fine. I need to meditate some more to calm my nerves."

"If you say so."

The sorceress smiled at her friend then glanced down the table at the rest of her companions, they were all eating in their usual silence but Kurt was not kicking Gar under the table or trying to make someone laugh by wiggling his ears. Everyone's attention was on their plates as they ate or wrapped the leftovers as she had been doing moments ago.

"You lot are awful quiet." a guard said making Raven jump.

Gar bit his lip so hard he drew blood in his effort not to speak. He wanted so badly to attack the guard now and get his revenge for the months of beatings and abuse. Kurt's tail gripped his clenched fist under the table and his friend's yellow eyes showed sympathy and similar anger. In half an hour they would have their revenge. They just had to wait.

* * *

Logan fastened a pack to Remy's back making sure to tie it down fast so they wouldn't lose their precious supplies. Everyone else had already been fitted out and they were checking each other's straps. Kurt was staring at a map of the buildings to find a good place to teleport himself, Holly and Amanda inside so she could try to disable the defense systems. They were the only two without packs to make it easier on Kurt.

"It's almost light's out." Xian whispered, his blue eyes flashing with excitement.

"Everyone remembers the plan?"

"Keep the guards distracted and wait for the signal from Kurt or Amanda that the defenses are trashed." Todd recited. "And leave no one behind."

"Good. Holly, you're changing into Jason to get access to the control room. Once you're inside let Kurt take care of anyone who's there. You need to keep watch while Amanda works, understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good, are you all ready?"

The group nodded.

Logan nodded to Remy who knelt on the floor and jammed his knee down on one of the boards causing it to flip up. He reached inside and pulled out a remote control with several buttons on it. He handed it to Logan, who put his finger over the red button. "You sure you're all ready?"

"Just get on with it." Gar pleaded, his eyes fixed on the device.

Logan jammed his finger down on the button.

* * *

(1) boys/guys-slang


	5. Chapter 5

since yall had to wait so long for an update im giving you two chappies at once :D yaay!!

ENJOY!!!

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Five_

Jason started as the alarm began to whine even though he was prepared for it. Like a shot he was out of his chair and slamming his baton into the back of one of his fellow guard's backs. Someone else yelped in protest but he was soon silenced as well. Within moments all five of the guards that had been in the room where knocked out. Jason went out the door and locked it with his master key. He turned and joined the other guards who were reluctantly stomping out into the cold to find the mutant with the faulty collar. Routine after all, these things did happen.

What they weren't expecting was a small army of angry and free mutants.

"As they say, what goes around comes around." Remy said throwing a handful of cards into the wind. They exploded with colorful flashes, half blinding the guards. The Cajun ran forward and jabbed his elbow into someone's stomach. He grabbed a baton and began swinging.

Gar backed up as he was slowly surrounded. He grinned evilly and suddenly morphed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. With a roar he charged through the men, leaving no one unscathed.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled. Black energy surrounded huge chunks of snow and threw them harshly into the group of guards. She sank to her knees in the snow and threw her hands up to the sky. Instantly twenty of the guards doubled over in such pain that they passed out within two minutes.

Rogue dodged a baton narrowly and rolled in the snow to avoid being plowed down. As she jumped to her feet she pulled off a glove, "I ain't so sure 'bout this Remy." she said as they edged closer to each other.

"I trust ya _cheri_; just take a tap. Logan's got my back if I go down."

"That's comforting." the Southern beauty muttered. She turned around to find Remy standing over her. She reached up and gently tapped his forehead. It seemed like an eternity but it was only a few seconds. With a yell Remy pulled away and nearly fell in the snow. Rogue grabbed his gloved hand with her own and steadied him while Logan and Xian kept the guards away.

"That was not exactly what I was expecting." Remy admitted woozily.

"Are ya okay?"

"I'm fine; you got the cards and beads?"

"Yep, I think I got a little bit of stick fighting too."

Remy smirked then handed her a charged card and jumped back into the fight. Rogue threw the card into the face of a guard and jumped over his head with new energy.

* * *

"You're hurting my ribs."

"Quit whining." Amanda snarled.

Holly glanced up into the shadowed ceiling, "Didn't Logan say that you two weren't allowed to talk to each other until we get there?"

"Do you see Logan anywhere?" Kurt replied playfully.

The girl sighed and tried to square her shoulders as she passed through the hallways, it was weird to think that she looked exactly like Jason; she didn't really feel any different. Her hand was wrapped tightly around the key card that the man had given her to gain access into the control room. She looked up again as someone let out a muffled grunt.

"Take a right." Kurt whispered from the darkness.

Holly obeyed and found herself faced with a short hallway leading to a door. She glanced back out into the main hall and made sure no one was nearby. Then she waved to Kurt and the young mutant climbed down to the floor with Amanda clutching tightly to his back. The girl looked flushed from having all the blood rushing to her head.

"Okay, once the door's open let me go inside and kick some butt. I'll come back out when it's safe for you to come in."

"You're not going to kill anyone are you?" Amanda asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Only if they aim a gun at my innocent fuzzy head, I'll try not to get blood everywhere." Kurt replied, crouching close to the floor so he would be ready to spring into the open door.

Holly rolled her eyes and swiped the card. The door slid open and Kurt sprang with all his might, inside there was a muffled shout and a loud crash. Holly and Amanda winced as someone yelled in pain then was silence by another crash. After a few minutes of scuffling Kurt stuck his head out of the door, "You coming in or what?"

Inside six men were bound and gagged in the corner; they were all knocked out with large lumps on their heads. Kurt was sitting on a chair looking at security cameras, "We'd better hurry they're starting to get beat back towards the fence."

Amanda jumped into a chair and ran her fingers over the computer interface, familiarizing herself with the machine. Finally she began working, her fingers flying over the keys as she went through a list of commands then began searching for the defensive controls.

"Is there anybody coming Kurt?" Holly asked as her appearance remorphed into her own.

"None that I can see. Ha! Todd just slimed one of the guards. Priceless man, priceless."

Amanda snorted loudly and clicked a few more buttons. Finally she tapped a large button to her left, immediately an alarm began to wail. Holly jumped while Amanda got to her feet looking smug, "There, all defenses are down."

"I stand corrected; you do what you're doing." Kurt said with surprise. He grabbed batons off the guards belts, "Now start smashing, we can't let them turn anything back on."

* * *

Rahne growled as viciously as she could and leapt at a man's chest trying to knock him down, he hit the snow sending up a spray of the white stuff while Rahne jumped on to her next victim. A few feet away Pietro was breezing past all his attackers and knocking their feet out from underneath them. Wanda was wreaking havoc with the guard's guns, the blue glow surrounding every weapon she could manage.

"Where's fuzzy?" Logan grunted as he threw a man over his shoulder.

"I don't know but we can't keep this up much longer." Rogue replied as she kicked a man in the head, she'd run out of ammo long ago.

"Speak for yourself Rogue." Gar snarled as he returned to his human form momentarily. He morphed into a python and wrapped himself around one of the guards, squeezing with all his might.

"Behind you!" Raven yelled.

Logan whirled around only to be blindsided by a group of fresh guards. He raised his feet to meet the charging man in the chest but the guard slammed into a wall of black energy. The mutants slowly got to their feet finding themselves under the protection of a large shield conjured by Raven.

"Can you guys handle this while I go find Kurt and the others?" she asked struggling to hold the wall under the guard's blows.

"We'll be fine kid, but how-?"

Raven's body transformed into the same black energy in the outline of a bird. She soared away and the force field fell down. Remy grinned as he charged up four batons he'd picked up, "Come and get it _hommes_(1)."

* * *

Raven melted through the metal walls as she followed the telepathic link to Kurt. Finally she went through a final wall and ran into the threesome. Holly and Amanda screamed while Kurt hissed, his fur standing on end.

"Calm down, it's just me." Raven said her body reappearing once more. "Did you disable the defenses?"

"Yep, we're all set." Kurt grabbed the three girls by the hand and with a loud BAMF, teleported them out into the middle of the fight. Amanda narrowly ducked a blow to the head and dodged behind Raven who was making her way over to Logan with the others following close behind.

"You sure this is gonna work?" the man yelled.

"I'm sure. Everyone get close to me!"

The mutants obeyed, still throwing attack to keep the guards at bay. Jason dove over the heads of some of them and grabbed ahold of Pietro's ankle.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

In a flash of energy and a crack the mutants were gone leaving the guards confused and looking around waiting for them to reappear.

"They've disabled the systems!" someone yelled.

"Code red, they've escaped."

* * *

CRACK! The group tumbled out of thin air, only Raven ended up in a dignified position. The others were tangled up with each other and trying to free themselves.

"Not breathing!" Gar yelped, from the bottom of the pile.

"Eww! Todd, get your tongue back in your mouth!" Holly squealed.

Kurt was swearing in German earning him a jab from Amanda. The blue mutant finally teleported out of the pile and stood with Raven while the others detangled themselves and checked for injuries.

"Everyone okay?" Logan asked brushing snow off his clothes.

"I'm gonna be sick." Pietro groaned, holding his stomach. "What just happened?"

Xian helped Wanda steady the speedster as he emptied his stomach. The young man was so exhausted he nearly fainted. Jason took him from the girls and began digging through a pack for an energy bar.

"That was quite a trip Raven." Gar muttered, from where he was still lying in the snow.

The sorceress offered him a hand and pulled the changeling to his feet. "Is everyone here?"

Remy took a quick head count, "Everyone's here and in one piece. But we'd best be finding us some shelter before this wind picks up again."

Gar sniffed the air and pointed down the hill, "I think there's some caves down there that we can stay. It won't be very warm but it's better than nothing."

"It's definitely better than nothing," Holly said wrapping her arms around herself attempting to keep warm, "Can we go now? My feet are starting to go numb."

* * *

As Gar had predicted there were a collection of caves at the bottom of the hill, one was large enough and deep enough to house the entire group of mutants. They huddled inside where Remy immediately began to build up a fire.

"We need to save that." Logan said snatching up a fire starter. "And they're still looking for us; smoke is going to make things worse."

"Would you rather freeze to death?" Remy asked quietly. "If we get frostbite we won't be able to walk and then just how are we going to get to New York?"

Gar sighed heavily as they continued to argue. He transformed himself into a large grizzly bear and lay down beside Raven and Pietro. Wanda had her head lying on Pietro's lap and Raven was meditating with an annoyed look on her face. Suddenly she opened her eyes and pointed at the pile of damp wood Remy had scraped together, "_Shahari_!"

A blast of flame shot into the wood throwing sparks into the two men's faces. They recovered and looked at Raven who glared at them, "If you two are finished yelling I'd like to meditate, sleep and starve off this headache."

"Why didn't you tell us you would do that?" Logan demanded.

"You're still yelling." Raven retorted calmly. "And you never asked."

Remy shook his head and went to spread out a collection of blankets. "Gar, can Holly and Raven sleep next to you? They're the smallest so if you stay in bear form it'll keep them warm and we can use the extra blankets."

Gar nodded and laid his head on his massive paws. Holly slowly approached him and was soon asleep, nestled in his thick fur coat. Raven lay down and let her eyes close as she listened to the others talk and argue long into the night.

* * *

(1) boys/guys-slang


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: ok here's some of the basic pairing you will see in this story,**

**BBxRae  
WandaxShadexXian  
PietroxRahne  
RahnexOC  
HollyxToad  
AmandaxKurt (later on)  
Romy  
and a few others ive probably forgotten but those are the main ones. Some of these won't appear until much later in the story so keep reading!**

**Enjoy...**

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Six_

Kurt yowled as he stretched himself out like a cat. He slithered out of the blankets he'd shared with Pietro and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. A light wind was blowing around the bend from the mouth of the cave and he headed towards it to look at the weather.

"Good morning."

Kurt jumped slightly at Amanda's soft voice. She was standing near the cave's opening looking outside at the blanket of snow. He approached her nervously, "Good morning _fraulein,_ did you sleep well?"

"Fine thanks."

"How deep do you think it is?"

Amanda shaded her eyes to look at the snow that stretched on into the woods. "Probably three or four feet; it was quite a storm."

"_Ja, _I hope Logan has a plan to cover our tracks, otherwise they're going to find us without any problem at all. You think a wind will-."

"Please stop talking about the weather." Amanda snapped.

"Sorry."

"No I'm sorry. I… I really haven't been fair to any of you. It's just… mutants… they scare me."

"None of us are going to hurt you Amanda." Kurt tried to assure her.

"It's not that. My father…he did experiments on me. He injected me with the X gene. For some reason it didn't take very well but I'm pretty sure my skills with computers aren't all natural either. I just...I never expected to get picked up so quickly."

"And seeing me first thing probably didn't help much either." Kurt said with a shy grin.

"No it really didn't. Not to mention I had no idea of where I was."

"Well you handled yourself pretty well considering."

Amanda smirked, "I'm sorry I tried to strangle you."

"Apology accepted, I understand. I probably would've done the same thing in your place."

"Really?"

"No."

The girl gave a snort that sounded like a smothered laugh and headed back into the cave. Kurt followed her shivering as the wind picked up, blowing loose snow onto his back.

Inside the others were waking up, groggy and sore from the battle yesterday but seemingly no worse for wear. Pietro, however, seemed to be having some stomach problems due to the teleporting yesterday. He was lying against a wall with one arm over his stomach.

"I'll be fine."

"You're paler than a sheet." Holly said.

"I just need something to eat."

Logan stomped over with a growl, "You're not eating unless you're sure you can keep it down, we can't waste any food."

"The teleporting isn't what did this to him." Wanda protested angrily as she stood over her brother, unusually brave. "He always gets like this after he runs too much."

"I ain't disputing that kid, I'm just saying we can't afford to loose food. We've got a long ways to go before we're going to be able to get any more."

"She's right Logan." Raven announced. She had knelt by Pietro while they'd been arguing and had her hands gently pressed against both side of his face. His eyes were blank, staring straight ahead. She released him and he snapped back to normal. "He's got a heightened metabolism because of his powers. He needs to eat and he'll be fine."

Gar offered his hand down to Pietro and pulled him to his feet. "Don't mind Logan, he gets grumpy when he's nervous. If you need some extra food eat my share."

"But what'll you eat?"

"I can turn into a cow or something and eat grass. Not the tastiest thing but it gives me plenty of energy. Now c'mon and get dressed."

* * *

"So can we ask where we're going exactly or are you going to eat us or something?"

Logan looked over his shoulder at Rogue who was waiting for an answer. They were standing in the middle of a dense forest eating a midday snack. Kurt, Todd and Raven were sitting up in trees keeping watch from the low branches while the others were gathered around in a circle beneath them.

"We're going to New York."

"We're already in New York, be more specific." Rogue replied with a frown.

Remy fiddled with a playing card as the silence reigned, "She's got a point _homme_; we need to know where we're going in case you get caught or taken down."

"Alright, we're going to a little place about twenty-five miles outside of New York City called Bayville. Friends of mine have a place set up where we can go and keep low until all this dies down and then they'll help us set up new identities for ourselves."

"Can we have names of these friends?"

Logan was silent for a few minutes then he spoke one word, "Xavier."

"That's it?"

"That's all you'll need to know to find him. Now let's get going before we have to bunker down for the night."

* * *

Gar jumped slightly as a huge pile of snow fell from the treetops; he looked up at Todd who sent him an apologetic look. He shook his head and continued on. Currently he was in the form of a large draft horse with Wanda and Rahne riding on his back. Rahne was sleeping, her fingers tightly clutching his mane while Wanda held her around the waist, watching her brother closely as he trooped through the deep snow.

"How much farther do you think?" Raven asked as she paused from churning up the snow with her telekinetic powers to hide their tracks.

Logan squinted over the snow, leaning on a large stick he'd found along the path. "Probably another two hours if we keep this pace up; you having trouble keeping up with the tracks?"

"Little bit. Can we stop for five minutes? I need to catch my breath."

The group halted and Gar let Wanda and Rahne off before morphing into his human form. He groaned and stretched out his arms and legs. "I _hate_ staying in one form that long. I'm going to have a crick in my back for a week."

"You don't have to carry us." Rahne said sleepily.

"It's not that, you're not even heavy. I've barely even morphed for two years. Staying in one animal form for a long period of time makes me sore. I'll be fine once I limber up."

Shade jumped down from the tree he'd been in and looked up at the sun, "We only have an hour of daylight left at the most and the temperature will be dropping fast. Are these supplies near any kind of shelter?"

"There're some abandoned houses but they're near an access road." Jason admitted, "But they'll have people searching them probably."

Remy sighed heavily, "We need a distraction then, something to get the guards away from the houses for the night. Unless anyone knows of any more caves somewhere nearby, then that's all we've got to work with. Anyone have an idea?"

"I could try using my powers." Wanda offered, "I've been able to keep people from seeing me before but I'm not sure how long I could hold it."

"Or I could change into one of the officers from the camp and tell them that they need to leave the area and look somewhere else."

"I say we just get rid of them." Shade muttered.

"_Ja_," Kurt said with a roll of his eyes, "That's the image we want to present, let's kill them!"

"Shut up the both of you." Raven snapped, "If I can get physical contact with one of the leaders I can alter his thoughts and have him order the men away from the houses. If Wanda could make me invisible and Holly kept his attention distracted long enough…"

"Frankly I don't care what we do but we're wasting time standing and talking. Let's get moving and try to get to the supplies before we have to tramp around in the dark. We'll go with Raven's plan unless someone else has any major brainstorms on the way there."

* * *

"You there, search out that house. No one is leaving until every rock is overturned! We have to find these monsters before they harm innocents."

One of the guards looked to his left as a bush rustled wildly then stilled. He moved closer to investigate then jumped as he heard the sergeant's voice yelling at him. Quickly he ran to his companions who were already moving through the houses and nearby woods.

Behind the bush Remy and Rogue uncovered Kurt's mouth and released Gar. The Cajun glowered at his younger friends, "You trying to get us killed?"

"Sorry." Gar whispered, "Instinct."

Kurt snarled a few angry words in German and slunk backwards to the others, Rogue following him. Holly looked at Remy, her face pale. "I don't know if I can do this. I lose control when I get really nervous."

"Don't worry, Raven will be with you the whole time and we'll be waiting just in case something goes wrong. Did you get a good look at the guy?"

"I think so." Holly closed her eyes and her brow furrowed in concentration. Slowly her features melded into that of the guard they'd just spotted, her clothes shifted appearance, matching the drab green uniform. "The gun's fake." she said touching the weapon, her hand passed straight through. Her voice was deeper and carried an accent. Remy nearly laughed when he realized it was his own voice he was hearing.

"Good job _cheri_, Wanda you ready?"

"I think so."

"Ready." Raven said pulling her dark hoodie over her head.

"Alright, let's go."

Wanda lifted her hands and a blue glow surrounded them. She bit her lip hard as she used her abilities to alter the guard's sight and hearing so that they would see only Holly, Raven would be invisible to them. She nodded and Holly rose from her hiding spot and walked out of the brush with Raven floating in the air behind her.

"She can fly too?" Gar whispered; he was hushed by Xian who was watching everything with uneasy blue eyes.

"Where've you been Mr. Marlon?" the sergeant demanded as Holly approached him.

"I was searching the brush; I think I may have found something."

"Something happen to your voice lad?"

In the next instant Raven gripped the man's head with her fingers. He let out a muffled cry that was cut short. Holly looked around hoping no one noticed the officer's strange position. She mouthed out a conversation, pointing beyond them at the road. Most of the guards kept searching but several gave them strange looks.

Finally Raven released the man and backed away. She took Holly by the wrist and pulled her away into the darkness. They hit the snow with a thump and rolled into the bushes. Remy grabbed Holly and ducked into the woods while Gar scrambled after a low flying Raven.

"Did it work?" Logan hissed as they joined him in a thicket with the others.

"Yes, he should move them away in about twenty minutes…Where's Wanda?"

Remy and Logan looked at each other. The Cajun swore and dove out of cover as someone yelled. Pietro followed with Xian and Rahne hot on his heels. Logan grabbed the others as they tried to follow, "Remy knows what he's doing. Keep low and spread out, we gotta be ready to drop on them if need be, stay together though, c'mon"

Pietro's heart was hammering in his chest as he stood at the edge of the woods. None of the guards noticed him; they were too busy surrounding Wanda who was on her knees, her arms over her head as she cried in fear. The speedster felt his muscles lock as someone pulled out a gun and cocked it, the noise deafening to Pietro.

"NO!"

The guard who wielded the gun screamed as a wolf tackled him. Rahne sank her teeth into his hand, biting down as hard as she could. A huge black shape swarmed over the guards causing them to go pale. A voice roared from the shapeless form, "Leave these woods or face the wrath of the spirits you have murdered!" Hands made of darkness reached out from the cloud causing the men to panic and scream, running for their vehicles. Tires squealed and slowly the sound of the engines faded into the distance.

"They're gone Xian." Gar said as they emerged from the forest.

Slowly the cloud shrank until it was in the form of a man. Xian's body melded into its solid form and he collapsed in the snow; moments later though he pushed himself up, his eyes black as coal. "Told him not to do that." Shade muttered woozily.

"Are you okay dawg?" Todd asked hopping over to his side.

"Ya… Wanda, you okay?"

The girl nodded and put a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you."

Rahne was retching into the snow; blood covered her mouth and the front of her shirt from where she'd bitten the guard. Pietro held her short hair back and kept her upright.

"What just happened?" Amanda asked, looking bewildered. "Everything was going fine."

Wanda looked down in shame, "I lost control and the guards saw me. I'm sorry, it was my fault."

"It's alright sugah," Rogue said gently, "None of us blame ya."

Rahne finally stopped retching and collapsed against Pietro who looked at a loss as to what he should do to help her. Finally he scooped her up in his arms and looked over at the houses, "Can we go inside now?"

Logan nodded, "Gar and Jason, I want you to come with me, I think they left a jeep down at the bottom of the hill and we need to uncover the supplies. The rest of you get into one of the houses and get yourselves some dinner. We'll be right back."

"I'll stay in touch." Raven said tapping her forehead.

"C'mon _mon amis_," Remy herded the group up the grade towards the house with a clench in his stomach. That was too close for comfort.

* * *

Todd slurped up a fly that was buzzing around his head as he stared aimlessly out a shattered window. He was sitting on a collection of crates that had been used last night for tables. He'd slept on them, keeping the last watch through the night. The others were still fast asleep, making noises and talking in their dreams. The amphibious mutant quietly burped and looked around self-consciously to make sure no one had heard him.

Someone rustled in their bed and slowly Holly's brown hair poked out of the blankets. She yawned then looked at Todd, "Morning."

"Hey, sleep okay?"

"I guess. You?"

Todd shrugged and went back to staring out the window. A new layer of snow had fallen erasing all evidence of the fight last evening. He scooted over as Holly nudged him with her shoulder. She burrowed under his blankets, half lying down beside him.

"What do you think this place we're going will be like?" she asked staring at new fallen snow.

"Better than where we were that's for sure."

The girl nodded and settled her head on her folded arms, "You know, I didn't think my parents would turn on me like they did. They always said it was such a shame that 'all those poor mutants' were herded into camps like the Jews. I guess things change when you find out one of those poor mutants is your daughter."

Todd snorted, "Can't be any worse than what happened to me. I thought Greg, my step-dad, was going to snap my neck in half. I'd never seen him that mad before. Scared the heck outta me."

"What about your mom?"

"She's convinced that Greg could do no wrong. If he said I had to go then I had to go."

"That's awful."

The youth grunted and stretched his legs out into a more comfortable position, "At least he didn't turn me in right then and there… or kill me. I thought he was going to for a few minutes. He finally just threw me outside with all my stuff and told me that if I ever came back he _would_ kill me. But to be real honest I'm kinda glad he did. The camp was awful but being here is way better than staying at home tiptoeing around school waiting for someone to find me out."

"That's true. I just wish I could've said goodbye to Jet."

"Your boyfriend?" Todd asked quietly.

Holly nodded.

"No offense meant, but it's probably best that you didn't. I told one of my best friends who I thought I could trust but they're the ones who sold me out to Greg. And he knew how mad he'd be. And Rahne was attacked by her boyfriend when she told him about it."

"What about you?"

Todd turned his head to look at the girl, "What about me?"

"What did your girlfriend think?"

Slowly his face began to redden and Todd flicked his gaze away, "Never had one yo. I wasn't exactly… cool y'know? Girls didn't talk to me, they talked about me. Just loud enough so I'd be sure to hear it as I was walking by. I mean, even before I started mutating I wasn't real easy on the eyes or anything."

"Oh come on," Holly said leaning her head on his knee and looking up at him with a friendly smile. "You're not _that_ bad looking. The yellow eyes work on you."

A smile crept onto the young man's face, "I've always had yellow eyes, yo. You really think they look good?"

"Yes, I do. They're very nice."

"Wow."

Holly giggled and gave him a gentle shove. "See? The only reason all those girls talked about you like that is because they didn't know how you really are. You're nice and funny and smart."

Todd's face quickly reddened again, "I ain't that smart yo."

"I bet you are. What kind of grades did you get?"

The young man mumbled something so quickly Holly wouldn't understand him.

"What?"

"I uh… I got all A's except in gym, I got a B+ in there 'cause the coach hated me."

"See! I was right!"

From behind them there was a slight scuffle and Kurt yelped loudly in pain. Almost everyone jumped awake and was on their feet in moments. The blue German looked around sheepishly, "Sorry, bit my tail on accident."

Logan rubbed his forehead, "Elf, you're gonna send me to an early grave."

"I said I was sorry."

Remy groaned and pulled his blankets over his head. "That means we gotta get up and move again. Why would you bite your own tail in the first place?"

"I was dreaming about food. Can I help it if my stomach starts controlling my thoughts?"

Gar lumbered to his feet and yawned revealing his sharp polar bear teeth. He morphed into a human making Wanda and Raven shriek in protest as the chill morning air hit them. Rahne poked her head out of the bed she'd shared with Amanda. Her green-yellow eyes were sleepy as she wagged her bushy wolf tail. Blood was still on the edges of her teeth but she seemed better.

"Can't we just sleep a few more minutes?" Pietro begged, his voice muffled.

"Sorry bub, we gotta keep moving. Unless you wanna attempt another episode like last night, I suggest you get off your butt and get moving."

Slowly and with much protest everyone got up and began to dress and repack their things. Remy and Rogue brought in bowls of snow to melt for water while Xian made breakfast with the help of several slivers of darkness.

"I tell ya, all I really want right now is a hot shower and an even hotter meal." Rogue murmured as they ate cold salami and crackers. Gar grazed outside the window as a zebra.

"Well if you want that you're gonna have to get your rear in gear." Logan said as he finished tying up his pack. "If we push real hard we _might_ be able to make it to Bayville by nightfall. Of course the way you're all moving that's a very slim chance."

"I didn't see you up at the crack of dawn." Gar said.

Logan glared at him and started collecting the leftover food.

* * *

"Welcome to Bayville, home of the Pirates. That's a weird name for a school mascot."

"Hush _homme_," Remy said gently, "We're almost home-free. Just keep low for awhile longer."

The group was sitting inside a deep thicket of briars and leafy bushes. Logan had told them to stay put and then he'd disappeared. That had been over an hour ago.

"I'm getting nervous, Remy." Rogue murmured, "It's gonna get dark soon and we don't have any shelter if Logan don't come back."

"Glad to know you all think so highly of me." Logan's deep voice grumbled as he suddenly entered into the thicket. "C'mon, we gotta hike through the woods and we'll be there."

Slowly everyone got to their feet and slunk out from the thicket, being careful to stay out of sight of the highway. They followed Logan with Raven at the rear, covering up their tracks. As Rogue had predicted it began to get dark, made worse by the heavy cover of the trees overhead. The group paired up to keep from getting lost and continued on their way.

Finally Logan drew to a halt, "We're here."

The mutants looked around in confusion. They were still in the middle of the woods. The only thing that they could see was a few dim lights blinking in the darkness.

"Is there something I'm not getting?" Amanda asked.

Gar took a whiff of the air, "I smell dirt… fresh dirt."

Logan smirked and pushed on a large rock. It lifted up revealing a square wooden door that was built into the ground. The man kneeled down and pressed his thumb to the small grey pad that lay where a handle should've been. The pad glowed green and the door slid open. Logan motioned for everyone to go into the darkened tunnel.

"Have I mentioned that I'm claustrophobic?" Pietro yelped as Kurt gave him a shove into the oblivion below.

Everyone bunched together below the entrance while Logan pulled the rock back and locked the door. He then pressed his hands against the wall searching for something in the pitch black darkness. "Aha!"

Lights flickered to life illuminating a rather wide tunnel that turned a corner twenty feet ahead, it was made of solid packed earth with no sign of support beams. Logan started walking down the tunnel and everyone else scampered to follow.

They walked for about twenty minutes when they were faced with yet another door. This one was made of steel and had no visible opening. Logan walked on, undaunted. He stood in front of the door, "You gonna let us in?"

"Password recognized. Welcome home James." A computerized voice said as the door slid apart.

On the other side of the doors the dirt tunnel was replaced with a hallway made of shiny steel just like the doors. The walls were seamless and so polished that they were like mirrors.

"Maybe it's just me, but does anyone else feel like we're being watched?" Gar asked as his head swiveled around, looking at the walls nervously.

"We are. Behind those walls are millions worth of security cameras and other devices. Xavier takes no chances even if someone could get through the doors or even find the entrance in the first place. Now c'mon I'm getting hungry."

After another hour of walking they reached a wooden door. Logan touched the handle and waited a moment before he heard a loud click. With a grin he opened the door and stepped into the room beyond. The others followed and were immediately blinded by the huge lights that covered the massive ceiling.

"Logan?" Jason called nervously, "You playing tricks _hombre_?"

"There are no tricks being played Jason Gonzales." A calm male voice said. "Logan is just as blind as you are right now. Victor will you please dim the lights?" Instantly the lights fell to a bearable level. In front of the group was a man with kind blue eyes and a bald head. He was sitting in a motorized wheelchair with his hands folded on his lap neatly. He wore dress pants and a pressed white shirt. "Hello my friends; my name is Charles Xavier."

"Where are we?" Gar asked looking around at the huge room.

"We are two miles underneath my mansion outside of Bayville. And yes there are cameras behind these walls just as there were in the tunnel."

Gar gave him a startled look, "How did you…?"

"I am a telepath like Miss Roth only much more powerful if I may say so. But usually I make a point not to read the minds of the people living under my roof. You are Garfield Logan, correct?"

"Ya."

Xavier nodded somewhat sadly, "Yes I thought so."

"Professor," A voice said from the speakers that were placed around the room, "We've got the rooms all prepared and dinner is set."

"Thank you Scott, we'll be there shortly." Xavier replied. He smiled at the group, "We can talk later, but right now I'm sure you are all very tired and hungry. I'm going to plant a location in your minds telepathically which will be the locations of all your rooms and who they belong to. Dry clothes will be waiting for you and once you've changed you can join us for dinner in the dining room."

* * *

**R&R please!**


	7. Chapter 7

i have returned!! here are some new chapters for you guys :) enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter Seven

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Shade pulled the black t-shirt over his head and idly wondered how Xavier had picked out clothes that he would like. He reached for his tattered black trench coat and found it still damp from the snow so he decided to hang it over the heat vent. He brushed his fingers over the top of the dresser which had some basic toiletries on top. He ran a comb through his hair then bent down to tie his boots.

"Xian? Shade? May I come in?" Wanda's soft knock accompanied the question.

"The door's open."

Wanda opened the door and stepped into the room. She was wearing jeans and a red graphic shirt. She was wearing makeup for the first time since Shade had met her and it made her look fierce and tough. A well worn red trench coat hung over her arm, "Hey."

"Hey, you look nice."

"Thank you, are you ready to go?"

Shade nodded and they left the room together. Outside Kurt was fidgeting with the collar of his shirt while he stood outside Gar's door. The changeling came out and stopped as he saw the other two mutants in the hall, "Wow, you clean up pretty nice Shade. Who knew?"

The vampire rolled his eyes and followed Wanda to Pietro's room. She raised her hand to knock but it was opened before she was even finished. The young man inside had his usually messy hair swept back and was wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt with a casual blue button down on top. He smiled at his sister, "Ready to eat?"

"_Oui_," Remy said pulling on his fingerless gloves, "This Cajun is starving for some real food."

"Then c'mon, let's go before my stomach takes over my brain." Kurt said covering half of the hallway with a leap and a bound. The others hurried after him, talking and laughing to cover their unease.

* * *

"Ah, there you all are." Xavier said as the group of mutants trickled in. "Everyone else is seated and ready to eat. Would you care to join us?"

Shade sat down between Todd and Wanda. His dark eyes rested on a tall man wearing red sunglasses and a woman with fiery red hair and happy green eyes. The woman was talking quietly to the man who was smiling and nodding. At the other end of the table Logan sat with a dark-skinned woman with snow white hair. Her eyes were stormy grey and she was talking in low, serious tones with Logan.

"I'm sure you're all hungry. Please, dig in."

The new mutants needed no further urging. Food was passed around quickly and soon the only sounds of conversation came from the older residents. Everyone else was eating as quickly as they could without seeming rude.

Amanda buttered a biscuit swiftly then jumped as Kurt's tail slapped her side. She glared at him and was surprised to see him eating slowly, the picture of calm except his tail which continued to slap her and her chair without making a sound. She grabbed the offending appendage making the mutant jump. "What is wrong with you?" she hissed.

"They are staring at me." Kurt whispered still looking at his plate. "It's making me nervous."

"They're probably mutants too, just eat."

Across the table Jean Grey Summers quietly nudged her husband with her elbow, "You're making Kurt very agitated honey." She murmured as she reached for the plate of cheese.

Scott Summers looked at her then at his plate, "My bad."

"Just remember, they're probably all very self-conscious and scared. Some of them have been in the camp for years. They haven't been around anything normal for a very long time."

"The vampire is staring at me."

"Now you know how it feels." Jean replied; smiling as Shade turned his gaze on her.

"Todd!" Holly shrieked as the youth slurped up a biscuit with his tongue. "Use your fork. That's just nasty."

Todd made a face at her but he took up his silverware as requested. Xavier smiled as the newcomers talked and argued amongst themselves. They were all pretending to be happy and carefree but he knew that they were all terrified that this was all either an elaborate trap or that it was a dream they were going to wake up from at any moment. He caught Logan's eyes and the stocky man shrugged his shoulders. His attention wavered as he spoke with Ororo, the weather witch. Xavier leaned back in his chair as he watch two of his oldest friends catch up with each other after six months of separation.

"Okay, I've officially eaten more than I can handle." Rahne said pushing away her plate with a look of disgust. "Pietro, do you want the rest of this?"

"Don't look at me. I'm going to have to run fifty miles to burn all this off."

For the briefest of moments, everyone seemed to freeze. It was the first time anyone had mentioned their powers since they'd entered the strange mansion. Slowly conversation started up again but Xavier could tell that they were agitated. They wanted to know what was going on and they wanted to know now.

He cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him almost immediately. He smiled kindly, "I know you are all wondering why you've been brought here. I'm sure you've figured out by now that Logan has long been a friend of mine and that he took you here because you'd be safe. As I have told you my name is Charles Xavier and I am a telepath. I have helped plan rescue efforts for almost ten years now. What my team and I try to do is infiltrate a camp and then organize an escape with the mutants inside. Then they are brought here and prepared to live in a mutant hating world. Some of them have decided to stay like Ororo, Jean and Scott. Do you have any questions?"

"How many mutants do you think you have freed?" Remy asked.

"Over three hundred. We could do more but the escapes have to be timed right so that no one suspects that they're all connected. And as I've said some have decided to stay. Scott and Jean are only part of a team of four. Wally and Jinx are in Russia at the moment. We also have instructors like Logan, Ororo as well as Emma, Victor and Hank who have declined to join us at the moment."

Raven raised her eyes from her plate. "How are we going to 'prepare' as you put it?"

"You'll be given fake IDs and those of you without a complete high school education will go to a public school here in Bayville. To the outside world we are a home for troubled kids who have been released from detention centers. Here at the mansion you'll be trained to control your powers so that you won't be in danger from accidental exposure. If you choose to leave then you'll get jobs at one of my industries or others where I can arrange for you to slip past the mutant gene screening process. Or you can stay and help our cause."

"_Herr_ Xavier?" Kurt asked quietly, "What about someone… like me? I can't go to school looking like this."

"Our resident inventor, Victor Stone, has created several prototypes of an image inducer. It will allow you to disguise your appearance to that of a human. You and Gar both will be able to walk in public without fear of discovery."

The two mutants looked at each other with a twinge of hope. Xavier smiled, "Now if you're all finished eating I'm sure you're very tired. Feel free to retire to your rooms or explore the mansion, please do not go out on the grounds and please be in your rooms by midnight."

* * *

Scott lined up his que with the white ball and clicked it gently, letting the eleven ball fall into the corner pocket. Logan snorted and made a wild short without really thinking about it. Remy was standing nearby by the window, smoking a cigarette. Raven lounged on the couch, reading a book while Gar and Pietro were watching local news with rapt attention.

"Remy how old are you?" Scott asked as he searched for another shot.

"Eighteen."

"But you were in the camp for five years. You were thieving at thirteen?"

"_Oui_." The Cajun blew out smoke from his cancer stick and flicked it out the window to the ground below. "It was my first real job and I'd just discovered that I was a mutant. No one else knew and I was having trouble and in that profession having trouble ain't a good quality."

"Scott?" Jean walked in the door and went over to her husband, "Hey sweetie, we need to go over some of the plans of the Russian camp for Wally and Jinx."

"But I'm winning."

"C'mon." Jean said gently tugging him away.

The room was quiet except for the droning of the television. Raven turned a page in her book then looked up as the report changed. Gar turned the volume up and Pietro sat up straighter.

"_A report was filed this morning for the escape and disappearance of a group of mutants from the Northern New York Camp. Somehow, the guards were overcome and the mutants disabled the defensive systems. Jason Gonzales, a guard, was the only casualty in the fight. In other news…_"

"Great they're pinning us as murderers now." Logan grumbled shooting the balls into pockets.

Remy snorted and began shuffling a deck of cards with one hand, "Can't say it doesn't surprise me, they'll do anything to make us look bad." He listened to the newscaster for a few more minutes then shook his head, "I can't stand this I'm going to bed."

"I think I'll join you." Pietro said following him out of the room.

Logan finished his short game and put the ques away, "Don't stay up too late kids."

"G'night." Gar said as he turned off the TV and leaned back on the couch.

The silence pressed in as the wind rattled the windows. Raven flipped her book shut and rose slowly, "Good night Gar."

"Hang on, I'll come with ya."

Raven waited and they walked down the hall to their respective rooms. Gar wished Raven a good night then opened the door to the room he was to share with Kurt until the others were fully cleared. The German mutant was kneeling by his bed praying quietly. Gar tiptoed in, not wanting to disturb his friend. He grabbed his things and went into the bathroom. When he came out Kurt was hanging from the doorframe doing pull-ups.

"You're such a show off."

Kurt dropped to the floor and sat on his bed, "I'm afraid."

"Why? We're in a house; we've got food and somewhere warm to sleep and best of all we're free men… mutants."

"I don't know but I feel as though something very wrong is happening. Maybe I'm just paranoid."

Gar pulled his shirt off and sat on his bed, "Hey, never chalk instinct up to paranoia. You and me, we notice things that other people don't. It's a proven fact isn't it? If you think something's wrong then maybe there is something wrong. I'll be staying on my toes."

"Thank you _mien freud_. I just hope that things will work out here. I want to finish my education if possible."

Gar lay back on his bed with his hands behind his head, "I just hope they don't try and hold us back because we haven't been to school in two years."

Kurt smiled, "Well if nothing else we're out of the camp."

"Very true," Gar replied burrowing under the blankets, "G'night dude."

"Good night Gar."

* * *

Rahne groaned as someone knocked on her door loudly. She slowly got up and went to unlock it; outside Pietro was holding a tray of breakfast food with a large grin on his face. "Hey, it's after noon so I decided to bring you something to eat."

"It's after noon? How long have I been asleep?"

"About fourteen hours I think. Can I come in?"

Rahne opened the door and let the speedster inside. She sat at the small desk in the corner and began brushing her red hair, "Why'd you let me sleep that long?"

"I just got up about fifteen minutes ago. Almost everyone else except for Shade is still sleeping. I brought stuff for me too if you don't mind."

"That's fine with me." Rahne said taking a piece of toast covered with jam and biting down hungrily. "You made all this in fifteen minutes?"

"No the red-headed woman, Jean I think, had it already made. I just heated up the eggs and ham and brought it up here."

"Thank you."

The two teens ate in silence for a few more minutes then Pietro got up and went over to the window to look out onto the grounds below. "I can't believe how big this place is. I got lost five times trying to find the kitchen."

Rahne smiled, "I like it and I think we'll be safe here."

"Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that it was nice to sleep in an actual bed. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that."

"Well you're a bundle of cheer this morning."

Pietro turned around and shrugged, "Sorry, it's just… Wanda and I haven't really been around people, except for doctors, for years. She's been kinda freaked out about the whole thing and when she's worried it makes me jumpy."

"How long were you at that place?"

"Too long." the young man replied softly.

"But-."

Rahne was cut short by a loud scream. Pietro jumped nearly a foot in the air then bolted from the room leaving Rahne a little disoriented. She got to her feet and ran after him as the screaming continued. The door to Wanda's room had been flung open so she ran there as everyone else trickled out of their rooms groggily. Xian thundered past her and went into the room. The screaming died down into loud sobs.

Inside the room, Wanda was curled up in a ball in the corner with her hands over her ears. Pietro was standing over her looking worried and lost. Xian was kneeling by her side murmuring softly but Wanda shoved him with her shoulder causing him to fall over into the legs of a desk.

"Leave me alone!"

Pietro yelled as a blue glow surrounded his body and sent him flying backwards into a wall with tremendous force; he crumpled into a heap and didn't move. Xian dodged a blast of the energy and pushed Rahne to the ground. Wanda ran from the room crying, shoving past the others that were gathered outside her door.

"Stop her." Logan ordered.

"I'm on it." Raven said lifting her hand, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Black energy melted up from the floor creating a wall in front of the runaway mutant, but instead of stopping, Wanda shot a blast of her energy at the wall. Raven yelled in pain as the wall shattered like glass, she fell backwards and Kurt caught her in surprise. Wanda kept running and soon rounded a corner so she was out of side.

"Go after her!" Scott yelled already running.

"There is no need for that Scott." a low female voice said. A woman dressed in a black pencil skirt and a low cut white blouse rounded the corner with her hand on Wanda's shoulder. The girl was still crying but she didn't have a crazy look in her green eyes any more.

"Emma, she's in no shape for you to be putting thoughts inside her head." Jean warned, "The Professor-."

"Has placed me in charge. He is going to Boston for a conference. Wanda, dear, why don't you go with Rahne and Xian to help your brother?"

Wanda ran to her room in tears. The others watched from the doorway as she knelt by her twin's side. "Pietro, what have I done? Are you alright? Please forgive me, I didn't mean it! I'm so sorry. Please don't be angry with me. I'm sorry!"

The speedster flicked his eyes from Rahne to his sister, "Wanda, don't cry. I'm not angry with you. I'm fine." He slowly sat up trying to mask the pain that flooded his face. "Don't cry, everything's going to be alright."

Wanda continued to cry as Pietro tried again to push away from the wall. Xian grabbed his shoulders as he nearly fell, "Maybe you should take it easy."

"I'm fine." the speedster said through his teeth, looking at Wanda pointedly.

Xian took the hint and moved away to talk with Logan. Rahne quietly rubbed Wanda's back as she continued to cry, "C'mon Wanda, why don't we go take a walk around the mansion?"

Pietro mustered up a smile for his sister, "Go on, I'll see you later okay?"

"Okay." Wanda replied shakily. She rose and left with Rahne still sniffling.

As soon as they were gone Pietro let out a sharp cry of muffled pain and slid further down the wall so he was lying on his back. The others crowded around him instantly while Scott shut and locked the door.

"Is Raven still out?" Logan asked.

"_Ja_ I am afraid so. Should I try to wake her?"

Logan swore softly as Pietro cried out again in agony. "Do the best you can Elf; Jean can you lift him down to the infirmary?"

"I don't think so, he's injured his back. If we move him it could do permanent damage to his spinal cord. I'll contact Hank and tell him to prepare as quickly as he can. Don't let him bite his tongue off."

"Emma I want you to call the Professor and tell him what happened. Scott, help Kurt wake Raven up. We can't take him to a hospital or they'll scan him."

The room was a flurry of activity as Ororo took the rest of the group out of the room except for Raven and Kurt.

"Did she break his back?" Ororo asked as she re-entered the room.

"I don't know." Jean replied looking worried, "I can't use my telekinesis on things I can't see. If I go in there and poke around I could make things much worse."

Over on the bed Kurt was patting Raven's cheeks desperately, "Please _fraulein _we need you, wake up."

Suddenly the girl's eyes flew open and she sat up gasping for breath. "Dear Azar what happened to me? Wanda! She… she broke through my wall. Where is she? What is- ah!" The girl gripped her head in pain and looked up at Scott, "Who is it?"

"Pietro, Wanda threw him against the wall and he's hurt his back."

Raven pushed past them both and strode over to Pietro. The speedster yelled again and Raven clenched her teeth as the agony ripped through her empathic senses. "I need Xian's help, he can hold him down while I work. And once I'm finished I'm probably going to pass out and need some steroids."

"I'll tell Hank, can we move you afterwards?"

"Yes I'll be fine just knocked out for a few hours. Xian!" The cry was both vocal and telepathic.

As she spoke the mutant burst in, "I am here. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to use your powers to hold Pietro down. He's delirious and probably going to fight me while I try to heal him. Can you do that?"

"Consider it done." Xian flicked his fingers and four black forms sprang from thin air. He swept his hands downwards and gently pushed Pietro's arms and legs to the floor. Again the speedster cried out and tried to struggle causing him to yell even louder.

Raven knelt by his head and put one hand on his chest and the other on his forehead, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

* * *

Rahne's sensitive ears twitched and a shudder passed through her as she faintly heard Pietro scream. She took Wanda by the arm and opened up a door to the garden outside.

"I don't think we should go outside." Wanda said nervously, "We might get in trouble."

"It's alright. We're just going to sit and talk. No one is going to hurt you."

The two girls went out into the lush garden full of both vegetables and beautiful flowers. There were several benches in the morning sun and Rahne sat on one patting the space beside her for Wanda to join her. The girl hesitated then sat down.

"It's beautiful here isn't it?"

"Yes."

Rahne fiddled with the ties on her sweat pants for a few minutes trying to ignore the screams that she could barely hear but shook her to the core all the same. "Wanda, how old were you when your father put you in that institution?"

"Who told you that?" the girl demanded half rising.

"Pietro told me. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But I think if you talk about it you'll feel better. Are you angry about it?"

Wanda glared at the ground as she spoke, "We weren't older than five. Pietro doesn't remember anything at all but I remember bits and pieces of it. Pietro cried for weeks, begging the doctors to let us go. But they didn't care, we were just a paycheck to them. As long as they took care of us they would get paid."

"That's awful." Rahne murmured.

"What kind of man does that? He ripped us away from everything that we knew and locked us away from the world. I never even knew my mother's name." The girl wiped a tear from her face and looked at Rahne, "Pietro nearly went insane in that place. They would lock him up in a tiny room and leave him there for days. When he'd come out he'd just curl up and sleep for a week or be totally incoherent. Why would they torture a little boy like that?"

"Do you think that your father knew you were mutants?"

"He knew and the doctors knew. I think they were studying us for some government project. I wasn't sure if there was anyone besides us in the building but at night you could hear people screaming for mercy. After awhile I began to think that they were ghosts, trying to warn us."

Rahne rubbed her arms unconsciously. "You must've been terrified."

"No the terrifying part was when they gave us those shots. They found out that we knew that we were mutants and came for us in our cell. Pietro fought them as hard as he could to keep them from getting to me and it took three of them to hold him down but… they made him watch while they…" Wanda hid her face in her hands and began to cry.

"Oh my gosh." Rahne whispered in horror. "Wanda…"

"Pietro screamed at them and fought them even harder but there were too many of them. They tore all my clothes off and beat me until I couldn't even think. I just remember being so terrified as they stood over Pietro and sank that needle into his neck. After he passed out they gave me the shot and when I woke up I was dressed and in the truck with you guys."

Rahne's eyes prickled with tears. "He never left your side you know. Not even to eat. Raven tried to help you and he told her that if she touched you he would kill her. I'd never seen anything like it. He kept checking your pulse like he was afraid you were going to die."

"I love my brother more than anything in the world. And now I've hurt him. What's wrong with me? Am I some kind of monster?"

"Wanda you are not a monster. Those people who did those things to you were monsters. You lost control. That's not a crime, it's a way of life for people like us. I've done it more times than I can count. You just need to put it behind you and move forward, okay?"

"…Okay."

* * *

"Are they going to be alright, Hank?" Emma asked as she looked at the two teens lying in the hospital beds.

Beside her was a large man with shaggy blue fur all over his body, he held a clipboard and had a pair of glasses perched on his nose. He slightly resembled a gorilla but was obviously human, "I believe so. I've never seen anything like it. What did Garfield tell you?"

Emma shrugged, "He said that Raven had told him about her healing power. Apparently she draws pain into her own body and then either absorbs it or passes it on to her enemies. She did that to several of the guards at the camp and they all passed out. She must've rid herself of everything then."

"A very good thing. She's pushed to her limit mentally and physically. I'm amazed she doesn't need anything more than rest, fluids and some standard steroids to get her back on her feet."

"And the boy?"

"All I can say is that it is a miracle Raven healed him at all. His metabolism is so heightened that his body had already started fixing itself. That explains why he was in such pain. Raven probably had to tear through newly mended muscle to correct the injury."

Emma shook her head and absently pulled her white hair into a braid. "Charles said that he would be back as soon as possible. We're to start the other children on their training tomorrow; these two will join in once they're able. How soon do you think that will be?"

"For Pietro… probably in a matter of hours he'll be ready to go. Raven I am not so sure about, her. I did the routine physical after she was settled and found some very strange things."

"Such as…?"

"Well for instance if you look at her you would think that she is merely pale because she does not get enough sun. Understandable if her parents tried to hide her from the authorities. But her skin, is in fact, grey. It is naturally that color."

"That's not unusual in mutants though."

"No, and neither are the other things that I discovered but the control she has over her abilities is extrodinary. They differ so greatly and yet she has nearly mastered each of them to the fullest."

Emma looked away from the window to her friend with raised brows, "So what is your conclusion Doctor McCoy?"

"That girl may have the mutant gene but she is not entirely human." 


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Eight_

Holly pulled her hair up into a ponytail and grabbed a sweatshirt before leaving her room and following the little map that had been left on her desk. After a few minutes she found the elevator hidden in the wall and took it down three levels. When it arrived at its destination she stepped out and looked around cautiously before walking down the wide hall.

"Good morning Holly."

The girl jumped and whirled around to find herself face to face with the dark-skinned woman whom Logan had introduced as Ororo. "Oh, you startled me."

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect anyone to wake up this early. I was just going to have a session with Logan and Scott. Would you like to join Emma and watch?"

"Sure."

Ororo gave her instructions on how to take a small flight of stairs and another elevator until she reached the control room where Emma would be. Then the woman left through a pair of sliding doors and Holly was left alone. She climbed the stairs as instructed and after a few minutes found herself at the door of a room. She knocked and it slid open obediently.

Inside there was a large array of computers and a few chairs along with a mini fridge and several pieces of medical equipment, most of the top half of the room was covered with glass that looked down into a large room where Logan, Ororo and Scott stood. Emma was sitting in a swivel chair flipping switches and typing on a computer. "Come in Holly; take a seat anywhere you'd like."

Holly sat down in a chair next to one of the windows. Emma leaned back in her seat and brought a microphone to her mouth, "The sequence will begin shortly."

"Thanks Em." Logan replied through the intercom as he loosened his claws.

"What are they going to do?" Holly asked.

"The Danger Room is a sort of obstacle course for mutants to hone their abilities. It has all sorts of levels and different scenarios. It can be as simple as avoiding laser beams while trying to get across the room or as difficult as trying to rescue a group of 'people' from an army of robots."

"Am I going to have to go through it?"

Emma smiled knowingly, "Yes but not anything nearly as difficult as what you're watching right now. I think Logan is planning on putting everyone through a simple avoidance sequence and then after lunch we'll give all of you a scenario to see how well you can work as a team."

"Do you know when we're going to go to school?"

"Probably within the month, Charles will evaluate your progress and your schooling level before he makes any decisions." There was a small explosion below but the woman didn't flinch, "May I ask you something Holly?"

"Sure."

"What do you know about Raven? Has she told you anything of her past or how she was discovered to be a mutant?"

Holly shook her head, "I haven't really talked to her that much. The only thing I know is that her mother died recently and she lived in Gotham. Gar might know more but I don't think that she's ever talked about anything like that. Why?"

"Doctor McCoy did a routine physical on her last night and determined the possibility that Raven is not fully human."

"You mean like Shade and Xian?"

Emma nodded as she flipped a switch casually, "Very much so. Hank thinks she's at least partially human but I doubt she's half vampire. If that was the case she probably would've told you or Shade because they would've had something in common."

Holly pulled her knees into her chest to think. A few minutes later the door opened and Jean walked in with Todd hopping alongside. The amphibious young man grinned at Holly, "Morning yo. How'd ya sleep?"

"Like a log. Is anyone else awake?"

Todd hopped up onto a long sofa and crouched there watching the older mutants below, "Ya, I think I heard Remy in the bathroom yelling in French at Kurt who was yelling back in German and Gar was caught in the crossfire. I got out of there before I got hurt, dawg."

"Do you have any idea what they were arguing about?"

"I don't know and I wasn't about to ask. I think it was something about Kurt getting fur on Remy's toothbrush but French wasn't my strong point."

Holly giggled and curled up again to try and catch some sleep before everyone else made their way upstairs.

* * *

"Are you ready Raven?" Logan's familiar voice boomed through the speakers in the large circular room.

"Ready."

There was a loud click and several sections of the wall opened up. Huge steel pillars slammed outwards creating an immensely large wall that reached nearly to the ceiling. Raven shot into the air and flew over it without hesitation. At the top she had to slip through a narrow space without being able to see wait lay in wait on the other side. For a moment she paused trying to listen for any unseen dangers but she heard nothing except the constant hum of machines. Taking a breath and concentrating Raven let her body melt into its astral form. She slid through the steel with ease and flew out the other side into a bay of lasers that would've set of an alarm had she gone through the obvious way.

"Good job, Raven. Now things get a little harder. If you feel like you're in danger of getting hurt let us know or get out of there. Don't worry about damaging the equipment."

The girl barely had time to nod before a huge mechanical arm shot out of a hole in the wall and grabbed her around the waist. She yelped in surprise as smaller arms grabbed both of her wrists and ankles.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Black energy seeped over the arms and forced them open. Raven shot upward towards the ceiling out of reach, the arms followed only to be restrained by the black energy. Raven's eyes began to glow white as she manipulated the machines to tie themselves into knots.

Up in the control room Emma leaned over to whisper in Jean's ear, "Looks like you've got competition dearie."

The red head pulled away with a snort and went to check on some of the other controls.

* * *

"This has got to be illegal in some way." Todd groaned as slowly stretched his lanky form out on the sofa. He wasn't the only one who was suffering from bruises and aching muscles.

"_Ja_, my tail will never work the same. See? I can not even lift it." Kurt held the spaded appendage in his hands with a sorrowful look.

Raven rubbed her temples slowly, working in the drops of oil she'd placed on her fingers. "I just wish you would all stop talk so loud. I can't even think straight."

"You did get hit pretty hard." Gar muttered. He was curled up on the floor in the form of a green and black jaguar. He lifted his head and rolled onto his side, "I'm still seeing stars from that stupid wall thingie. No one told me stuff came out of the floor."

Jason made a muffled noise and threw a pillow at Gar. The changeling's head snapped up and he growled, "What'd you say to me?"

"I said shut up. I can't even walk. I'm hurting in places I didn't even know could hurt."

Wanda laughed quietly, "Logan did put you through a pretty rough fight."

"Rough? Rough is fighting a couple of gang kids down in the neighborhood. This was torture. I couldn't even feel my arms after the first five minutes. After ten minutes my legs were shot. I was just running on fumes the last half."

"I wouldn't whine too much. Logan went easy on you. The metal in his skeleton makes him pretty much impervious to normal pain. He must like you for some reason." Emma's voice floated through the room as she entered carrying bandages, ice packs and pain killers. "You are all to take two pills and no more. I'm assuming none of you have any kind of drug use history?"

Gar morphed into a human and wrinkled his nose, "Involuntary drug use history, I'll probably be better off to tough it out. I just want an ice pack and about a week to sleep." He grabbed two of the packs and stretched out on the floor with one on his head and the other on his lower back.

Emma nodded and passed the rest of the supplies out. "I'll make sure to tell Doctor McCoy to be careful about that in the future; anyone else?" When no one answered she left the room with the remainder of the things and closed the door behind her.

Remy yawned and stretched his arms above his head, "Well I ain't had a work out like that in ages. Hurts but I'll feel better in the morning."

"Shut up Lebeau." Rogue growled as she downed two of the pills without bothering to take the bottle of water that Pietro offered. "I'm gonna crawl into my bed and stay there, ain't no power on earth that can move me till I'm healed up."

"Oh I'm pretty sure I could think of something _cheri_." Remy said lurching to his feet. In one swift movement he grabbed Rogue and slung her up on his shoulder.

The Southern beauty yelled and gripped his other shoulder in fear being very careful not to touch him, "If you drop me I'll kill you one hundred times over Gumbo."

"Gumbo… now that ain't a very nice name is it?" Remy asked as he tipped his body to the left causing Rogue to slide off his shoulder. She screamed but Remy delivered her safely on the ground without injury.

"You're dead Cajun!"

"Hey now I didn't hurt ya did I?"

Amanda rolled her eyes as the twosome ran out of the room yelling at each other. "Well, no offense to any one but I'm doubly glad I'm just a computer mutant."

"Go hug a tree." Kurt grumbled.

Slowly Gar began to laugh and soon it spread through the whole room until all of the mutants were laughing, forgetting their injuries and worries.

* * *

_(three weeks later)

* * *

_

"I don't know _Herr_ Xavier. Are you sure this will work?" Kurt asked as he took the bulky watch from the man.

"I'm very sure Kurt. Just try it on, here you go Garfield."

The two young men strapped the devices onto their wrists and pressed a few buttons as they'd been told. Immediately a holographic image wavered over their bodies. Kurt jumped backwards onto the bed in surprise, "_Mein Gott! _I can't even… you're skin… it's not green!"

Gar looked at himself in the mirror and jumped a little bit. He now had blonde hair, lightly tanned skin and his pointed ears were rounded like a normal human's, his eyes were still the same shade of deep green. He turned his gaze on his friend and grinned, "You're not too bad looking yourself. Take a look."

Kurt bounded over to the mirror and crouched below the dresser for a moment before rising up so that the tip of his head could be seen. Then he jumped up with a wide smile, "I am…I am not a fuzzy elf! This is the most wonderful present I could ever ask for. _Danke Herr_ Xavier, _Danke, danke, danke!_" He turned in a circle in order to see himself. His 'skin' was pale and he had long dark hair, much like that color it normally was only blacker. His eyes were dark brown instead of glowing yellow and his fanged teeth were rounded normally.

Charles smiled in acceptance, "Now boys I want you to promise me that you will only use these when you are outside the mansion. When you are here you may not wear them unless we have visitors. These are not meant to be used as cover-ups for who you truly are. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"_Ja Herr Xavier_."

* * *

"Raven! Raven, are you in there?" Gar pressed his ear to the door of the girl's room. "Raven, I know you're in there I can hear you breathing."

The door opened and Raven's pale face appeared, "May I help you… Gar?"

"Ya it's me. How'd you know?"

Raven turned away from the door leaving it open so Gar followed her inside. "I sense things, it's difficult to explain but basically I can tell the difference between people's…souls if you will."

"So that's how you can tell Xian and Shade apart without looking at them."

"Yes." Raven sat on her bed and looked him up and down, "It's very… different. Does Kurt have one?"

"Ya, now that's a weird sight." Gar sat on the floor and turned off the image inducer, "So you ready for tomorrow?"

"I don't know. I think I am but… I'm a little nervous I suppose."

The changeling smiled up at her, "Why? You'll have all the football players wrapped around your finger within the week."

Raven flushed red against her grey skin, "I've never been to a real school. I was taught at home and I've always been sort of isolated from people. You're the first real friend I've ever had."

"Well I'm flattered to have the honor Miss Roth."

The girl smirked and got to her feet, "Well Mr. Logan are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Are you kidding? I'm terrified."

Raven laughed, "Well that makes two of us. I think I hear a carton of ice cream calling my name in the kitchen. Will you join me sir?"

"After you milady."

* * *

Wanda shifted the fine dirt through her fingers and leaned back on her heels, "Thanks for letting me help you Ororo. Scott said you don't like people in your garden usually."

The weather witch smiled from under her baseball cap, "I don't like people who don't listen to me. You have a way with plants Wanda. Besides, the only person I really don't like in here is Logan. He tends to stomp right over my little ones without even noticing. But that's his nature and I can't change it. I can only keep him away."

Wanda laughed and ran her fingers through her now short black hair, "Ororo I'm going to go inside and take a shower if it's alright with you."

"That's fine dear, just take your tools back to the shed and put them back where you found them and please tell Emma if you see her that I want to talk with her in the library after dinner."

"Yes ma'am." Wanda said as she gathered up her borrowed things and left for the garden shed right outside the back door. She opened the door and started putting tools away. Suddenly someone ran in and slammed the door shut. Wanda screamed and whirled around only to find herself pressed up against Xian.

"Oh Wanda!" The mutant backed up a step in surprise, "Forgive me if I startled you. I'm hiding from Todd and Kurt."

Wanda nodded wordlessly. She moved away to put her other tools away. She could hear Xian moving around behind her and when she turned around to leave she found him standing right over her again. She stifled a yelp and looked up at him, "You are in my way."

"Sorry." He moved aside and pushed himself up onto the workbench. "Promise not to tell them where I am?"

"Ororo will kick you out when she finds you."

The young man sighed dejectedly, "I suppose that is true. Well then I'm off to find another hiding place. Please excuse me."

He vanished in a puff of smoke that blew over Wanda's face then went under the crack of the door and was gone. Wanda pressed a hand to her chest and took a deep breath. After a moment she shook her head, " Schizophrenic half-vampire mutants, I've seen everything."

* * *

Charles Xavier looked over the table of mutant teens before him and felt his heart swell. This was the second largest group they'd ever brought in at once. Of course there would be questions at school but everyone was prepared with a false past and in a few cases a false identity. He smiled as Rahne and Pietro bickered about the way Pietro held his silverware. Raven and Rogue were in a deep discussion that involved short glances at Remy and laughter. The Cajun was pretending to ignore them but everyone could tell he wanted to know what the girls were talking about. Kurt was chattering endlessly about some of his plans while Amanda just rolled her eyes and picked at her food.

Xavier leaned back in his chair and let them eat. He'd been planning on giving some sort of talk but right now it didn't seem as if it was needed. They all knew what they had to do and they would do it as well as they could. That was all that mattered. 


End file.
